In addition to the in-person service at the cemetery, the funeral will also be live-streamed. To view the service virtually, please go to https://smclive.ca/ on Thursdy May 30th, 2024 at 3:00pm

Over a life that spanned almost a century, Stanley Freeman lived through an astonishing span
of history—personal history, world history, Jewish history. Born and raised in downtown
Toronto, he witnessed the Christie Pits riots around the corner from his home, the Depression,
World War II, the Holocaust, and the birth of the State of Israel. He was part of a vibrant
downtown Jewish community made up of immigrants who worked hard so their children could
strive for excellence and success. Imagine, if you will, Stanley and his fellow students at
Harbord Collegiate, one generation from the shtetl, performing in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas
and preparing to become a new generation of Jewish professionals.
Stanley received his bachelor’s degree, his master’s in chemistry, and finally his medical
degree, all at the University of Toronto. He spent his hours buried in books and examining
cadavers while his new bride, Montreal import Naomi Pascal, supported them, working for
Toronto Children’s Aid. Stan began his career as a psychiatrist as his children, Michael, Joan,
and Jonathan came into the world.
He was there in the early days of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry (later a part of CAMH),
eventually becoming the Director of the Social and Community Psychiatry Department. This
group was involved in creating innovative community projects, such as the Hong Fook Mental
Health Association, that helped bridge the gap between immigrant communities and psychiatric care. Other
projects included the training of psychiatric nurses in the Canadian North. He balanced this work
with his private psychotherapy practice and teaching in the Department of Psychiatry at UofT.
Stan and Naomi grew old together gracefully, watching their family expand to include their
children’s spouses, Gitta, Martin, and Béla, as well as their five grandchildren, and six great-
grandchildren. They moved together into the Baycrest Terraces in 2015, reacquainting
themselves with old friends and acquiring a host of new ones. When Naomi died in 2022, the
couple had already celebrated 73 years of marriage.
Stan always had a strong love of learning and adventure, and in addition to his academic and
professional successes, he wrote plays and essays, learned to fly an airplane, and enjoyed
fishing, travelling, and watching the Blue Jays. He will be greatly missed by a small army of
friends and fans.

Memorial donations may be made to Baycrest Foundation 416-785-2875 https://baycrestfoundation.org/