GITEL MORRISON

December 14, 1930 – March 23, 2020

Our beloved mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, and aunt died peacefully at her home on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 89 years old.

She was a true force as told in the book “Fugitives of the Forest” which recounted the story of Jewish resistance during the Second World War. Born in Lodz, Poland, she and her family and future husband survived with the Bielski partisan group for the last three years of the Holocaust after escaping from the Lida ghetto. She recorded her story of survival for the Steven Spielberg USC Shoah Foundation. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn511138

She maintained her wonderful way of life after leaving a displaced persons camp and settling in Winnipeg with her parents and younger brother, Simon.

Her warmth and generosity were like a beacon of light to her extended family and friends. Her door was always open to everyone and she only saw the cup as half full. She lived fully in the present, never really looking back to the past or worrying about the future.

Her favourite piece of jewelry was a necklace that read “Live, love, and laugh”. People were attracted to her honesty, warmth, and openness. She was a strong, independent, and a beautiful woman who valued family above all else. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

She leaves behind:
Her daughters Rosy (Phil Chodirker), Sheila (Danny Rother) and son Jeffrey (Shayla); her brother Simon (Shelly); her grandchildren Lisa Chodirker (Mark Osten), Paul Chodirker (Lainey), Lainie Weinstein (Scott), Marissa Rother (Joey Caccavo), Megan Morrison (Aaron Clarfield), and Brooke Morrison; her great grandchildren – Ben, Logan, Reese, Eden, Sloane, Jayden, and Emmy. She was predeceased by her loving parents, Lazar and Leska Zelcovitch, her brother Yosel, and the love of her life, her husband Morris.

Donations in her name may be made to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.
https://www.friendsofsimonwiesenthalcenter.com/donate

Shiva will be observed privately.