Lloyd Newman, who built a family clothing business into a 20-store chain, served on the board of nearly arts institution and Jewish organization in his adopted province of Nova Scotia. A successful businessperson, Newman also personally advocated for refugees and was the first to welcome them to Halifax.
Newman died Sept. 30 in Halifax. He was 90.
Dr. Philip Belitsky, a friend for more than 50 years told The CJN, “So many of the things he did were admirable—personal causes, personal actions, helping individuals, fundraising, Jewish affairs, politics, and his cultural priorities. He was always a person who was right there in the front lines, personally becoming involved.”
Newman was the second of three boys born in Detroit to Joseph and Miriam “May” Newman, first-generation Americans who came from Poland and Austria early in the 1900s.
He graduated from the University of Michigan and served in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator from 1956 to 1959 and achieved the rank of first lieutenant. “He found it interesting, and Lloyd always enjoyed learning and experiencing new things,” Belitsky said.
He met his first wife, Iris, at summer camp in the U.S. Several years after being discharged from the air force, he moved with her and their young son to Halifax where her family had a women’s clothing business. Newman then built the Arcade Ladies Shoppe and Nortel’s into a 20-location chain throughout Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick.
In the mid-1970s when Vietnamese refugees were seeking asylum in Canada, the Arcade sponsored a family, spearheaded by Lloyd. “Nearly 50 years later, the patriarch of the family, Lan Truong, still credits Lloyd with giving him the opportunity to start their new life in Canada,” said his wife Linda Law.
Newman was president of Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Halifax for two terms and chair of the capital and endowment fund, and held executive positions with the Atlantic Jewish Congress, the London Jewish Community Federation and United Israel Appeal-Canada.
During the 1980s he was involved in projects to bring Jews from behind the Iron Curtain to Halifax. Belitsky explained how Newman worked on clandestine plans to bring a talented Jewish transplant surgeon, his wife and daughter from Hungary—the plan fell through, but the physician was later able to come as a refugee through a fellowship at Stanford.
Pavel Jockel was a Czech Jew who fled his country in 1987 but was unable to get out of a refugee camp in Belgrade, Serbia. His sister lived in Halifax and approached Newman for help.
“We couldn’t get out and my sister went to Lloyd,” Jockel told The CJN. “He found a Jewish guy from Halifax, Gerry Mendleson, who was able to call someone in Ottawa for help. I came to Halifax with my wife and two sons, and I finally met Lloyd.
“He arranged a dinner and made fantastic salmon which I never ate before, and he invited six members of the Jewish community who wanted to know what I needed and how they could help.”
Jockel’s family still lives in Halifax, and his five grandchildren are enthusiastic students at Shaar Shalom Hebrew School.
The clothing chain closed in 1993, and Newman took a position in London, Ont., for a year as director of London Jewish Federation, helping them analyze the resources of that community. He returned to Halifax, married his second wife Linda, and became managing director of the Northwood Foundation, a non-profit affordable housing provider in Nova Scotia.
“Everyone said he put the foundation on the map,” Linda said. “He raised money and increased the profile of the foundation with signature events like the annual Appetite for Life fundraising gala.
“He always loved the arts,” Linda added. “Even as a teenager in Detroit, he would take the bus to concerts. From the moment he arrived in Halifax, which was a small community with a lot of artistic things going on, he became involved. He was the youngest president of Neptune Theatre when he was 33.
“He was on the board of almost every arts organization in Nova Scotia,” his wife said. “At various points he was past-president and life director of Neptune Theatre in Halifax and governor of the National Theatre School of Canada. He was president of Symphony Nova Scotia and was credited with helping resurrect it. He set up and chaired the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation and from 1984-1989 he represented Atlantic Canada on the board of The Canada Council. He was on the board of governors of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design; vice-chair of Nova Scotia Museums and member of the Prince Edward Scholarship Committee for the province of Nova Scotia. He was in the office almost every day.”
When he was president of Symphony Nova Scotia, the couple went to every concert and when was on the board of Canada Council they went to every concert and every play across the province.
In 1992 he was awarded the Canada 125 Medal, issued on July 1 that year to honour those who made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, to their community or to the country.
He also campaigned for numerous successful provincial and federal Conservative politicians in Nova Scotia.
Newman was a passionate golfer and tennis player and travelled extensively including many trips to Israel. His wife and friends enjoyed his inventive cooking, and he hosted annual dinners for many years for his Arcade Ladies Shoppe team after he retired.
“He was always there thinking of the other person and those who were less advantaged than he was. This extended not just to individuals but to the Jewish community,” Belitsky said. “When somebody died, Lloyd would be the first to bring a meal to the shivah. He never looked for thanks, it was just the right thing to do.”
Amy Newman Brown described the strong presence her father had in her life. “For me, the impact was seeing how important tzedakah and community were to him. He would sometimes say ‘you can always write a cheque but there’s a difference showing up when people actually need you to be there’. It’s important to be a member of your synagogue. It’s also important to represent your Jewish community outside your Jewish community.
“That’s the legacy he left for me.”
Lloyd Newman is survived by his wife, Linda Law, son Mark Newman and daughter Amy Newman Brown. He is predeceased by his parents, his brothers Ray and Robert (Bob) and his daughter Shawna.
