Irwin Talesnick

Baruch Dayan Haemet. We have many memories of Irwin and Ruth and family when they were living in Kingston. Irwin stood out as someone who had a strong love for Judaism and Israel. He had little regard for those who compromised on their faith and was never afraid to express his views regarding the above. He was blessed with a wonderful family יהי זכרו ברוך. Condolences to Ruth and the children and extended family Rabbi Howard and Rivka Finkelstein

Dear Talesnick family May Irwin's smile light your pathways always. He was proud of you all and he lived to see his legacy continuing for generations to come. He had an unshakeable commitment to the land of Israel and its people and a love for fellow Jews and a loyalty to his religion wherever he was. He lives through you and Irwin stories will continue to be told with love and smiles. My sincere condolences.

The world is a much better place for having had Irwin in it. I knew him as my professor and my parents' beloved friend. He leaves such an impressive legacy - just imagine how many students and students' students, and even students' students' students benefitted from his dedication to quality science education! My love to all his family and friends. I am blessed to have known and learned from Irwin.

What to say about a special guy? He was one in a million. Gersh & I send our sincere condolences to all of the Talesnicks. He may be gone but his memory will be with us always

Dearest Talesnick Family, I have so many beautiful memories from your time in Kingston and remember Iriwin with such fondness. Sending you all love and strength. Baruch Dayan Ha-Emet

Dear Mark and the entire Talesnick Family. My sincere condolences on your loss. May you find comfort in the many wonderful memories of time meaningfully and enjoyably spent with your beloved Irwin in days of better health, and may you draw both comfort and strength, even if physically distant, from family, friends, and community. Yehi Zichro Baruch.

We are so sorry to hear about your loss. May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Debbie and Philip Kates

Condolences to the whole family. We are thinking of you at this time. We will always remember him fondly. May his memory be for a blessing. Cheryl and Richard Kizell

Hi Ruth & Family: It is that time in our lives when we lose favorite people we have worked, played and dined with. Barbara and I were fortunate to know and do all of these things with you and Irwin. Irwin will be greatly missed by the science education and teaching communities. He was instrumental in helping the Science Teachers Association of Ontario (STAO) grow and shrive. Chemical Education was high on his priority list too. He became known all over Noth America for his novel and thought-provoking chemistry demonstrations. Chemistry Educators in Israel also benefitted from his teaching ideas and resources. I will always remember the great times we had visiting each others Science Education Faculties to share teaching ideas and resources. And no person took as much time as Erwin arranging his book displays at the Faculty of Education, University of Toronto. Both pre-service teachers and practicing teachers attending summer courses benefitted from his books and motivating chemistry demonstrations. Barbara and I wish you and your family our sympathy.

I will always remember Mr Talesnick’s big infectious smile and laugh. His loss will truly be felt by all those privileged to have known him.

We are of course extremely sorry that in addition we had no opportunity to extend our final farewell to Irwin. He will be sorely and sadly missed by us both. To you Ruth, we can undrstand your very loved loss, and we atempt to convey our hearftelt condolences. We have both experienced a similar loss and truely hope that you shall take 2 steps forward at a time, But only one step backward. You both have enjoyed a mutual love for and devotion to each other that cannot be taken from you nor replaced. And you are both blessed with wonderfull children and grandchidlren who shall always enjoy with you your many years of marital bliss. G-d bless you all. With much love, Stan and Ruth

Dear Ruth, Mark, Lisa, Shoshi, Chyla, and Judith and families, My heart is heavy writing this note. Although we haven't seen one another in many years, I have very fond and clear memories of 'Uncle Er-won' (because I couldn't pronounce Irwin properly) from Park Home Ave. in Toronto, then visiting in Kingston, Camp Shalom, and at your apartment in Jerusalem. Our families go way back. I remember Uncle Er-won's parents and his mother's delicious cookies. I remember sharing Chyla's wedding at Queen's - it was the first kosher event catered there. Irwin's legacy reaches far and wide. I've met people who went to Queen's who knew him and took his classes. Baruch Dayan Haemet. May you know no more sorrows. With love, 'Michy' Gutmann

Dear Chyla, Jeff and Family, I am so sorry to read the news of your Father’s passing. Experiencing a loss is always devastating and these conflicted times make it even more challenging to be together as community in order to honour and grieve. Although I cannot be with you, I send my thoughts and prayers. May you know no more sorrows and May his memory be a blessing. Fondly, Lisa Schiller

Dear Chyla & Jeff We are so very sorry for your loss. May your dad's wonderful legacy bring you and your family comfort at this sad time. With sincere condolences. Sean & Wendy and Carolyn

Dearest Ruth and Family, BDE; I was so saddened to hear the news... The graciousness of Talesnick hachnasat orchim was extended to me on many occasions, long term and short. I thank you deeply and will treasure those moments, now from across the Pond where I made my new home in mid-March, 2020. The brilliance, wit, no-nonsense style, and innovations remain incomparable. HaMakom Yenachem Etchem b'toch She'ar Aveilei Tzion v'Yerushalayim.

Dear Ruthie & Family, So sorry to read about the passing of your beloved Irwin, a gentleman and a scholar! May his memory be for a blessing. With deepest sympathy, Lorraine.

Dear Ruth and Family No words can express the sadness I feel on the loss of your dear Irwin. I know you will find comfort and warmth with family and friends during this difficult time. My heartfelt sympathy to you.

Dear Ruth and family, We have such fond memories of the times we spent with you and Irwin and family, and are deeply saddened by Irwin's passing. Our heartfelt condolences to you all. May you find comfort from the closeness of family and friends during this difficult time. With love, Judy and Avi

Wonderful memories of our time at the Farband Labour Zionist organization. May his memory be for blessing.

Thinking of You Irwin One of the first things I do in the morning is wash my face and shave. And as I do that I think of you scraping your face with a rusty, dull, old Gillette blade when you could just mow off the daily growth with the electric shaver I gave you. Have you ever tried it? And later when ever I brush my teeth I think of you when you asked how to keep the tooth paste tube from getting all messy under the cap. I eventually came up with away to avoid the problem but when I reminded you, you couldn’t remember the event so I am hoping you have dealt with this messy detail, I have. I think of you when I put on my underwear, most of my undershirts have Physics or Chemistry formulas on them, upside down. I remember folding, counting and packing these T-shirts in the units in Niagara Falls. I also remember traveling to a large ware house parking on the side of street and men filling the car with huge boxes of T-shirts. And with great sadness I remember a competitor driving his small car to Niagara Falls and carting away all the shirts that were unsold. As I have breakfast and add Maple Syrup to my Eggo waffles I think of you and I sitting down to the most gigantic waffle I had ever seen in Jerusalem it was awesome. I also remember all the times we stayed in Motels that provided breakfast and had a waffle maker. I also think about you as I pour my orange juice or red juice and mix it with mucil in a Mason jar you gave me with a handle. I remember you holding up a Boyle’s Law apparatus to demo how to do the activity every time I see a syringe. Every time I go into the garage I am surrounded by Mason Jars, Hoffman Apparatus, syringes, power supplies, electric balances all of these things remind me of the wonderful times you and I shared presentations at conferences. I look at the compressed gas cylinder and remember the first time I saw you do your hydrogen demos. Ever time I get into my truck I am reminded of many many trips you and I travelled back and forth between Niagara Falls and Toronto. And then there was the trip Patti and I took the Grey Ghost out to BC for ChemEd. And why on our many trips was it that it was my turn to drive every time the rain poured down The Hoffman Apparatus is special because I remember the first time I watched you do the electrolysis of sodium sulphate and copper(II) chloride solutions. I was amazed at the number of discrepant events you set up in that presentation. And when you decided not to do that presentation I felt compelled to continue to do it for you. Every time I get down on myself, I remember what you and Andy did to lift me out of a real funk by inviting me to attend a ChemEd which resulted in retirement becoming one of the best stages of my life. Of course at my age I don’t remember any of the others. When my fingers get cold in the winter I remember counting stopcocks and extenders on the floor of the unit in Niagara Falls. Those were some of the best of times. When I go to the markets I remember setting up and taking down the S17science conference booth and how exciting and fun it was to talk to the participants who stopped at the booth. And there are other events that cause me to remember the bumper stickers and the singing rods I still use those in my presentations to get peoples attention at the beginning of a session. Much of my days, weeks, months is spent in remembering my times spent with you and Ruth, many are related to the conferences we attended. But then there are the vacations we spent together. As I said you and Ruth made retirement one of the best stages of my life. We met in my first year of teaching going to a NSTA conference and we didn’t really reconnect until we planned a conference together. Both those events were significant but your inviting me to attend a ChemEd conference with you was literally a lifesaver for which I am forever grateful. You are and always will be in my thoughts.

Lisa, now I see how you got to be the educator, trailblazer that you are.So wonderful that you were able to connect from the heart for so many hours.Glad you are with family to share your loss. Thinking of you with deep compassion and enormous love

Dear Ruth and family - I am greatly saddened to learn of Irwin's passing. Gilda and I met you both (though Gilda knew Ruth from their Zionist youth movement days) when our mutual cousin, Roz Fine seated us at the same table for the reception following one of her sons' bar mitzvah at the Shaarei Shomayim so many years ago. And it was then that we discovered we had another 'connection' through the educational work that Irwin did at Queen's and my cousin Nava Ben Zvi did at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem - and that they had even collaborated with each other! It was prima facia proof that the world is such a small place. Irwin was a lovely man - as I knew him, lively and good hearted, great sense of humour, interested in everything, a chemistry maven and a real mentsch. May you and your dear family be comforted and heartened by all that he was through this difficult time. Mel and Gilda Katz.

Dear Talesnick Family. We extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the entire family on your loss. Your beloved Irwin was a man of great substance and humility; we are honoured to have crossed paths. May you all derive strength from each nother and from the many cherished memories shared. May he rest in peace.

Dear Ruth, It is with sadness that we learn of Irwin's passing. Our sincere condolences to you and the entire Talesnick family. May his memory be for a blessing.

As with many, many people, Irwin was the catalyst I needed to make teaching science and teaching PEOPLE a life-long passion. Through him, I found the Science-teaching Community and shared some (no one could match ALL) of his passion for building and contributing to that community. From the hospitality that he and Ruth showed us as students in Kingston, to the camaraderie of working on Chem Ed and STAO conferences, he became not just a mentor but someone who we felt honoured to be able to call a friend. As teachers, our occupation and passion is to conduct tours through the Tower of Knowledge, while scientists spend their lives placing a few bricks. Irwin showed us all how to make our tours come alive. As individuals, Irwin showed us that the path of service to others could be creative and joyful, and to deal with setbacks as inevitable, but just one more challenge to our ingenuity. His legacy is evident in the sterling characters of his children, and the strength of the teaching community he leaves behind. Irwin will be missed on a visceral level by that community and by so many of us in that community, but his work and his sound philosophy is woven into the fabric of Science Education around the world. Thank you Irwin and Ruth, for being such positive influence on my life and on the lives of so many others.

Dear Ruthie, I was very sad this morning when I read that Irwin had died. Then I smiled when I remembered all the years of our youth, spent together, at Habonim and Camp Kvutzah. Accept my condolences for your great loss. I remember both of you fondly. Bev

Irwin Talesnick will Also continue to be LOVED - - by - - David Matthew Barshaw

We will miss our dear sweet neighbour. His smile lit up the hallway. Our deepest condolences to Ruth and family.

You are all in my heart, and thoughts and prayers. With love Patti

Just a quick note to express our condolensces to you, Chyla and the kids at the end of this particularly difficult time you all have had. May his memory be a blessing to you all.

Dear Ruth and family, I have such wonderful memories of Irwin and the whole Talesnick family growing up in Kingston. I remember interesting conversations with Irwin about life and religion. He always treated me as an adult even in my young teens and always with kindness and a smile and a twinkle in his eye. The Esco family was lucky to share many simchas, including my own engagement ceremony, with Irwin and Ruth. May his memory always bring you comfort and a smile. Robin (Esco) and David Jonas

Dear Ruth and all the Talesnicks, In four decades of friendship with you we grew to love and adore Irwin as a man of virtue, unique qualities , a good friend and above all a Mentch. We admired his scientific and educational achievements, his exceptional devotion to his students and his scientific based business initiative. No matter how long were the intervals between our meetings in Israel or in Canada, getting together was always warm and close and loving, as if no time has passed. And how can be not mention his sense of humor, sometimes sharp, sometimes a bit cinical, but always funny and in good taste. Ruth, you have lost your beloved life partner. We lost a very dear friend of good heart and great kindness. We shall keep on cherishing our friendship with you and your family, always carrying Irwin's memory in our hearts. חבל על דאבדין. מן השמיים תנוחמו Wishing you long life, With all our love, Sofia and Michael

Dear Talesnicks, sending our most heartfelt sympathies. You welcomed us into your family and we reaped the love, joy, togetherness, and brilliance of the Talesnicks. We fondly remember Irwin marking occasions with the gin given to his parents on his birth, connecting family, friends and generations. May Irwin’s presence always be.

My deepest sympathy to the bearaved family, I am sorry for your loss. May peace and comfort find you during this difficult time.

Sorry to see the passing of Irwin, always had a good word whenever we met. He enjoyed life and giving to others, shortened too soon. המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Deepest condolences Rifka. May G-d console you and family.

As I watched the funeral the tears just started to flow. How it brought me back to my childhood the memories just started flooding in. I remembered the amazing times running over to the Talesnick house to have lunch, or sitting around the square table for snack time, watching Ruth make her amazing challahs while we would sit around chitchatting about whatever drama was going on in the Kingston Jewish community. Always something to talk about! I know how my mom especially cherished debating with Irwin about everything that was going on in the world, their love of Queens University and many many other life issues. I wanted to reach out and hug each one of you,sending my love to you all during this difficult time.

Dear Lisa and family Our deep condolences on the passing of your beloved father. May his memory be blessed and remain alive in his wonderful continuation. Much love.

Dear Ruth and family, Irwin was a generous man of principle. May you be comforted by the wonderful legacy left by your remarkable husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

To Chyla and the Entire Talesnick Family, Sending condolences on your dad. So very sorry.

So sorry to hear the sad news. BDE. May your memories bring you strength and comfort.

Dear Talesnick family. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'll always have a nice memory of visiting the house in Kingston back in the 80s where I was made to feel very welcome. My heartfelt condolences to you all.

Dear Ruth My heartfelt condolences to you and the family on your sad loss. May you have a long and healthy life. Valerie Ben-Arie

Dear Ruthie and all the Family, Please accept our sincerest condolences on the death of your dear Irwin z”l. The stories and memories of Irwin told at the funeral, portrayed all the love and respect he had from you, his wonderful family. May all these stories and memories always keep him close to you and be a blessing for the entire family. המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים Eli and Linda Kirshblum

I worked with Irwin at the Faculty of Education and found him to be a kind and generous man. My sympathy to his family

Dear Ruth and Family, Sandy and I were saddened by the news of Irwin's passing. He was a great work colleague at Queen's. I was aware of Irwin's continuing contribution to teachers and teaching thanks to my son, Steve, who got to know him through the Science Teachers Association of Ontario.

Dearest Ruth and family~ Irwin ז׳ל was a mentor, colleague and cherished friend. A man of integrity, creativity, insight, wit and warmth. He challenged us to think, and then think again (and again) with greater depth. No small part of his legacy lives on in dedicated and skillful educators and inspired and engaged students around the world. Thank you for sharing him with us. May you be comforted and inspired by his memory. המקום ינחם אתכם Fondly, Lis and Gary

Dear Ruthie and Family You and Irwin have always been an inspiration to me and Mory. We (you two and I, Hindy) first met when I was a teenager at Camp Kvutza and I think I was so in love with both of you from that time. Even though we always promised to get together once you came back from Kingston, our lives were always busy and challenged. And Irwin was as feisty and determined to live his life as best a possible, surrounded by his amazing , loving family. We are so sorry for you loss because there will be a major vacuum left for all of us who knew and cherished his friendship. Love Mory and Hindy and Family

Irwin was a mentor to me, and a father to so many of us in his ChemEd family of teachers across the world. My condolences to all of the family.

Dear Ruth, Mark, Lisa, Shoshi, Chyla and Judith, I'm very sorry for you loss. I remember Irwin so fondly from my time in Kingston and the few times we met later in Toronto. He was an inspiration to me. A person of simultaneous charm, intelligence and clear conviction. The kind of person everyone wants as a friend and a mentor. As a boy away from home for the first time, in a strange town, he set finest example to me of community generosity. Your home was a super fun and inspirational place, thanks to Irwin and all of you. Baruch Dayan HaEmet. - Elisheva, Sam, Hodaya and Avishai Lightstone

Dear Chyla, Jeff and the entire Talesnick family, we're so sorry to hear about your loss. Jack and I send our heartfelt condolences to all of you. I remember your dad as a very wise soul and I'm sure that he taught many, many students some great lessons that they will carry their lifetimes. Sending you all hugs.

There are speciall ones and then there there was Irwin He inspired so many your science teachers. challenging them to think outside the box. But he we also a wonderful husband and family man, so proud of his kids. What a wonderful example of a famiily! You will be truly missed by all who came to know you. So many memories.. Rest in peace, Irwin

Dear Ruth, I was privileged to know Irwin as a student when I was already a teacher, and as a fellow congregant at Zichron Yisroel. Irwin was a master teacher and I can still see the twinkle in his eyes as we asked questions about the experiment but he refrained from responding to them, waiting for us to discover the answer through the experiment that he laid out for us. His preparation was superb. As a fellow congregant we often entered into far ranging discussions about various aspects of the Torah portion or a particular point of religious belief. While we had not seen each other in a number of years, my admiration and respect for him were not diminished. May his memory always be for a blessing,

To the Talesnick family, our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.J remember Irwin from high school days and our meetings over the years that followed were very special.Condolences to the family.

Dear Ruthie and family. I am so sorry for your loss - my thoughts and prayers go out to you. There is a Camp Kvitza reunion going on up in the sky with lots of good memories. Sandy Starkman

Ruthie and family, Our deepest condolences to you and your entire for your loss of your beloved Irwin. May his beautiful memories bring you strength and comfort during this very difficult time.

I am so sorry for your loss. Irwin was my chemistry teacher at Runnymede C.I. back in the sixties. We were the only Jewish people in the class. He was a wonderful teacher and made a boring subject like chemistry interesting. I wish I had seen him in his later years.

My thoughts are with you. I know Irwin through STAO and he was an absolute legend. His workshops were mesmerizing and he was very inspiring.

It is with great sadness I today got to know that Irwin passed away in November last year. My deepest condolences to Irwins family! I got to know Irwin the first time in august 1992 during one of his workshops in UC Davis, California. He was a great inspiration to my teaching. We kept in contact for a few years in the 90´th and we bought some of Irwin’s teaching material and equipment for schools in Sweden. He also visited us in Halmstad, Sweden were he had some workshops for chemistry teachers. I will always remember him as a very generous person who willingly shared teaching ideas with us. We still keep and use his “idea bank collation” and the “Orange juice clock” at our school; Kattegattgymnasiet, Halmstad, Sweden. He certainly was a great teacher and person! He will always be in my thought´s.

I dontv5hink my original message was properly forwarded but today I was thinking of Irwin and wanted uou to know that. My condolences to all the family on your loss He was a wonderful man and my life was richer for having known him and all of you.