A tribute to Gloria Fuerstenberg—whose artwork once graced the front page of The Canadian Jewish News

Gloria Fuerstenberg

Gloria Fuerstenberg (née Lidsky), who passed away on Oct. 3, 2023, as remembered by Janine Muller Sherr, a close friend.

As the leaves turn from green to vibrant hues of red and gold, I think of our dear friend Gloria, and of how much she would have been thrilled to experience another stunning Canadian autumn. She loved the outdoors and was especially enchanted by colour, as only an artist could be.

It’s been a year since she left our world, but I still think of Gloria Fuerstenberg all the time. I take down from my shelf a collection of autobiographies of Yiddish-speaking immigrants, and come across her gorgeous handwriting, more like calligraphy, with a heartfelt inscription addressed to me. The other day, I opened my kitchen cupboard and discovered a little jar of tusanini pepper grinder, which Gloria once sneaked into a little bag, alongside her famous blueberry muffins, before I left for the airport to head back to New York.

The black pepper would do marvels for a dish I prepared and she knew it would add just that little extra something special. Every gift she offered was tied with a bow; every platter of fruit and piece of cake laid out so artistically, often adorned with a decorative flower. These thoughtful touches of hers left an impact on so many people. Gloria knew that love is in the small things.

Gloria’s family and mine were close when I was growing up, and later in life, she and my father developed a warm and caring relationship, after their spouses—Adam, and my beloved mother, Rochelle—passed away. In some ways, she was like a second mother to me.

Gloria put her heart and soul into everything she touched. She was a fabulously gifted painter, illustrator and sculptor—her art was displayed everywhere in her home. One of her greatest accomplishments was developing and directing the art program at Ulpanat Orot High School for Girls in Toronto. She was completely devoted to her students and determined to challenge them in her classes; her greatest pleasure was watching them achieve new heights in their artistic creations. Many young women were inspired to pursue their own careers in art after studying with Gloria.

But she also took an interest in each of her students as individuals, developing relationships with them that lasted many years beyond graduation. Reflecting on her career as an art teacher, Gloria said, “It was a love affair between my students, my subject, and myself.”

Front page of The Canadian Jewish News edition of Sept. 24, 1992.

She was unique and unforgettable. Even in her later years, her spirit, sense of humuor, and intelligence still sparkled. She had tremendous joie de vivre and was a great connoisseur of the beautiful things in life—she loved literature, classical music (and the Beatles and Elvis too!), concerts, ballet, and theatre. A witty conversationalist, she would share riveting and often humorous stories from her own childhood, her extensive travel, her teaching, her children’s adventures growing up. Even when she was ill, she would still put forth a heroic effort to present a beautiful and smiling face to the world. I remember one Friday night opening the front door and there she was, standing so poised and dignified, with a beautifully coordinated blouse and skirt, wearing her “trademark red lipstick” and, of course, sporting a stylish scarf, which added just the right splash of colour to her outfit. In her hands she was holding a plate of homemade cookies to grace our Shabbat table; she always made sure to bring a thoughtful gift.

Golda Lidsky was her birth name—like Golda Meir, she quipped. Born in Montreal on Dec. 24, 1943, at Jewish General Hospital, she was raised by doting parents: her father, a native Montrealer and her mother, who had immigrated to Canada at the age of 14 from Belz. She was also blessed with an older brother, Arnold, with whom she always shared a close relationship. She described her parents as “exceptional people” who provided a loving childhood home where Shabbat, kashrut, Jewish holidays and traditions were faithfully observed. One of her earliest memories was of her parents giving her a weekly nickel to add a leaf on a picture of a tree in her Hebrew school; the money collected was used to plant a tree in Israel.

She attended the United Talmud Torah of Montreal where she excelled at her studies and especially loved the Hebrew language. In Grade 7, she was awarded the medal for excellence in Hebrew speaking from Keren Hatarbut. Each summer, she looked forward to joining her peers at the Labor Zionist summer camp, Unzer Camp at Kinderfeld, where she discovered her talent for acting and learned both Israeli songs and songs from the civil rights movement.

She majored in Fine Arts at Sir George Williams (now Concordia) University. It was while registering for classes that she first met Adam Fuerstenberg, a fellow student; it didn’t take long before they fell in love, and married several years later. Adam would go on to become an English professor at Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan) University, a post which he held for 40 years.

Gloria loved to learn. Even in her final years, she participated in the Zoom lectures of Rabbi Shlomo Gemara, vice-principal of TanenbaumCHAT. She was also a devoted fan of Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold—formerly of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal—who ran a series that connected the theme of the weekly parasha to Broadway musicals! Could there be a more perfect combination for Gloria?

But her deepest love of all was her family—her husband, children, and later her grandchildren, as well as her brother, sister-in-law, and nieces, who brought her so much joy. Gloria loved entertaining in her home. Her greatest pleasure “was sitting around the dining room table surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and dear friends.” She devoted so much effort and energy into preparing her delicious dishes and presenting a magnificent table.

A proud Canadian, who called this the greatest country in the world, she would often speak about the painful loss of her dear Uncle Reuben (her mother’s brother), who was killed during the Second World War while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. But she was also greatly devoted to her Jewish heritage, Shabbat and Yom Tov traditions, Yiddish and Yiddish literature, Israel, the history of the Jews of Canada and of Montreal in particular, Holocaust studies and the legacy of the Holocaust survivors.

She was especially interested in the contributions of Jewish women, and in 2012 she composed an article for The Canadian Jewish News: “The Techinah and the Titanic,” in which she reflected on the “treasure of Jewish women’s thought and piety” that she discovered in the book of prayers used by her grandmother and mother—which included a techinah in memory of those who had died in the Titanic disaster a century earlier.

I learned so much from Gloria: to take pride in your roots, be respectful of others, and how to be deeply thoughtful and caring. But I think that in her final years, she taught me what is perhaps the greatest lesson of all: how to persevere through challenges and pain; how to hold on to hope, and, above all, how to cherish every day that we are privileged to live in God’s glorious world.

Gloria was a great admirer of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l. His eloquent words perfectly sum up her remarkable life and incredible contribution to her family, friends, students, and community, who were all blessed by her love:

“Our life is the single greatest work of art we will ever make.”