Zel Gutzin

BDE Dear Mrs Gutzin and family So sorry to read of the loss of your beloved husband,father and Zaidy. May his memory be for a blessing Dennis and Cindy Maister(Parents of former students Cary and Lauryn)

Sad news. Zel was a thoroughly principled, conscientious colleague. Full of solid common sense when dealing with students, parents and the occasional staff member, he was totally dependable and a great ‘mensch’.

Wilf and family, so sorry to hear of your loss and the passing of your father, husband and Zaidy. My thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.

Mr. Gutzin insisted that we (in long-ago Grade 10 at Bathurst Heights) address him only while standing; questions posed from a seated position would elicit a “Pardon me?” until we clued in. He taught us both respect and history - and did both well. My sympathies.

Dear Wilf, Shaylah and family. I was so very saddened to hear of your dear father's passing. Extending my deepest and heartfelt sympathies. Having known you, Wilf, I know he was a wonderful man. Please remember memories never die, and you have a lifetime full of memories of your dad to bring comfort and joy. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Words cannot adequately convey, just what a special, intelligent, kind, loving and amiable mensch that Zel represented. He was truly an amazing example, not only for his family, but to all the students, community members and friends. We have many fond memories of family occasions and chagim spent together. May his memory always be a blessing and may you be comforted in this difficult time. HaMakom yenachem et'chem b'toch shar avay'lay Tzion vee'Yerushalayim. With love, the Schwevys

Wilf and Shayla and kids, Sheryl and David and daughters and the Gutzin family. I was saddened to learn of the death of your dear father, father-in-law, grandfather and husband. I have a double connection with your family. Firstly, Shayla is my cousin as is Wilf by marriage. Sheryl and David are of course respected fellow members of the Village Shul whom I have always been fond of. Although I never met your dear father of Blessed Memory or your surviving mother; I am sure they were and are loving and exceptional parents and doting grandparents. I am equally confident that your late father and your mom had/have every reason to be proud of their progeny. My heart is with all of you at this sad time. Hamakom Yenachem Etchem Betoch Shaar Avalei Tzion ve Yerushalyim and know no more sorrow. Janice Lebow

My sincere condolences to you, Maxine, and your entire family. May your husband’s memory be a blessing to all of you.

He was my history teacher in high school! Sending my deepest condolences to Sheryl, David and family. Ellen Morris

Please know how saddened I am of this loss. Howard and Zel were always such wonderful friends and the four of us together always laughed and enjoyed each other's company. My heart is with you all and of course I pray for happier times ahead, with health and love always.

Dear Maxine & family: We are so sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved husband, father and Zaiidy. May his memory be for a blessing.

Please except my sincere condolences on the passing of Mr. Gutzin. I am sure that he will be missed by his entire family.

BDE. Sad to hear about Mr. Gutzin's passing. He was an amazing teacher and person. It was worth staying to 5:10 just to have his class. I will never forget my American History or Modern Western Civilization classes. He made history come alive in his class. May his memory be for a blessing.

Dear Wilf, I am indeed saddened to hear the demise of your father. I can't imagine how great a loss this is for you. As we say in our culture, I hope and pray he is in a better place. Stay strong.

Our heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the tragic loss of a warm and gentle family man. May his memories be a blessing.

Please accept our sincere condolences on the passing of your beloved husband, father and Zaidie. I had the privilege of working with Zel at Chat. He was one of the most effective educators I ever knew. He was a true gentleman and mensch. Ron and Dianne Gold

Maxine, Wilf and family, Sheryl and family My deepest condolences on your loss. I remember during the winter, when the children were much younger, Zel would take his children, our children and others to the rink to go skating. He liked sports and also participating. Zel will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Zel was an extremely influential and memorable educator in his 30+ years at CHAT. As the ultimate leader by example and a first class mensch, he earned the respect of his students with his consistent approach to education, discipline and community. Students loved to "kibbitz" with him inside the classroom and in the hallways, where his entertaining "shticks" and wonderful idiosyncrasies were legendary. He had a passion for teaching, a talent for connecting with people through conversation and an extremely high level of reliability. Having been his backyard neighbour for over 20 years, we can attest to the fact that he brought that same passion and attention to detail to his lawn maintenance. To the entire Gutzin family, we extend our deepest condolences - we will remember Zel's winning smile, passion for life, and of course his unflagging love and commitment to his beautiful family.

I am so sorry to learn of the passing of Zel. I was privileged to be a colleague of his at Benei Akiva schools and to be able to get to know him . He was a true ‘gentle’ man. May his memory always be for a blessing. Condolences to his entire family. Barbara Shour

Baruch Dayan HaEmet, he will be greatly missed in the community

Dear Maxine and family, My heart and thoughts are with you as I remember Zel. What a wonderful, warm and kind person. My deepest sympathy, Joyce Burns

Wilf, Shayla & Family, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father, father-in-law, grandfather and husband. May you find comfort and strength from the wonderful memories you shared and will find yourself reflecting upon and sharing with family and friends and colleagues in the coming days and weeks ahead. Thinking of you all at this difficult time. Sharlene Wilder, Sheldon Freeman & Family

Dear Gutzin Family. I first met Zel playing ball hockey in the late 60's at CHAT. Our paths crossed again in the late 90's at Danny's Auto Service. Off and on we would run into each other and Zel was always the consummate gentleman. I offer my sincerest condolences to the family. May the good memories ease your pain.

Dear Shayla, Wilf, Rina and Julia, We are so deeply sorry for the loss of your father and grandfather. Sending our deepest condolences to your whole family through this exceptionally difficult time. Warmly, Sasha and Mitch

Dear Maxine, Wilf, Sheryl and the entire Gutzin Family, we want to share our deepest condolences to you all. Zel has been the most wonderful neighbour and friend since we moved across from him 17 years ago. We will miss seeing him sitting on the front porch, our great conversations about school and the interesting news articles he read daily. We have so many fond memories of him, from throwing the baseball with our son and singing his famous "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to school we go" song every September on the first day of school. He will always be remembered in our hearts as a kind, intelligent and thoughtful friend. We will greatly miss him. Love the Bastone Family

I’m sorry for your loss. He was one of my favourite teachers back at Bathurst Heights.

A wonderful teacher! Grade 10 history at Bathurst Heights. Over 50 years ago. Who could forget Mr. Gutzin. My condolences to the family.

Heartfelt condolences to the entire Gutzin family on your profound loss. Mr. Gutzin was my American history teacher at Bathurst Heights. He was, bar-none, one of the best teachers of my entire educational career- strict boundaries, wicked sense of humour, brilliant smile, a wealth of knowledge and a kind, compassion heart. Some 50 years later, he continues to live on, as we still recount funny stories of what took place, once his classroom door was promptly shut. Rest in peace , Mr. Gutzin, knowing that you strongly impacted and warmly touched the hearts of many, many young lives. Sending his family love, strength, and courage to help see them through these most difficult days.

Wilf and Family, I am so sorry to learn of the loss of your father. My deepest sympathies are with you and your family during this difficult time.

We are so sorry for your loss. Our deepest condolences to the family. May his memory be a blessing.

Dear Maxine and Family, our sincerest condolences on the passing of Zel. He was a wonderful husband, father and Zaidy. May his memory be of a blessing to his family and friends and may he continue to be an inspiration to all his students past and present. Lorna and Joey Leibovici Leibovici

To the family of the late Zel Gutzin z'l, Please accept our most sincerest condolences on your loss. May you all hold onto all the wonderful memories that you all shared together. BDE

My condolences on your loss. I have such clear and distinct memories of Zel as my teacher in my CHAT days. So much of what he taught me has stuck with me all these years later. A truly wonderful guy. May his memory bring smiles to your faces and love to your hearts.

Wilf, sending my condolences to you and your family during this challenging time. Reading all of the messages of condolence just shows how amazing of a man he was. Thinking of you and your family.

He was Mr. Gutzin to me in the late 60’s when he was my history teacher at Bathurst Heights. He is remembered as an excellent teacher, all round lovely human being, and I believe he inspired my lifelong interest in history. He clearly influenced many lives over his lifetime… his memory will live on in the lives he touched.

Zel was a true mensch....a pleasure to know and a pleasure to work with at CHAT. Sincere condolences to the entire family. Baruch Dayan haEmet.

My condolences to the whole family. Mr. Gutzin taught me grade 13 American History at CHAT, and was definitely the best teacher I ever had. A real mentch, who genuinely cared about his students with a passion for teaching.

I have the fondest memories of Mr. Gutzin and I can still hear his soft spoken voice. I loved his history classes. He also taught my other 4 siblings at Bathurst Heights and at CHAT. So sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing.

Dear Gutzin family, BDE. So very very sorry to read if Mr. Gutzin’s (z”l) passing. He was my teacher many moons ago for American History in grade 13 at CHAT. A gifted & inspirational educator whose class was always interesting. Sheryl, I think you were a camper of mine at Camp Shalom also many years ago. May you all be comforted among the mourners of Zion & Jerusalem now & May your husband’s, father’s, & Zaidy’s memory always be for a blessing.

Wilf, my deepest condolences to you and your family during this difficult time. My thoughts are with you.

Dear Gutzin family, My sincerest sympathy and condolences to all. Zel was my History teacher at Bathurst Heights in both grades 10 and 12. He was an excellent teacher and was highly respected and loved by his students. I can still remember all the boys in my grade 12 class wearing blue shirts one day as a way of showing our love and affection for Zel who always seemed to wear blue shirts. We also imitated all of his humorous mannerisms and expressions outside of school----that's how much of a positive influence he had upon our lives. May his memory be both a comfort and blessing for the family.

Remembering Mr. Gutzin's American history class. In 1976, he stressed that the American government only worked in a respectful two party system ! Not only was he a master teacher, but he wrote the plays for touch football and brought them in writing to the huddle.. Enjoyed, our reunions at Shaarei Tefillah over the years and seeing his children bring him so much joy and naches.

Our deepest condolences. May your memories give you comfort during this difficult time. הַמָּקוֹם יְנַחֵם אֶתְכֶם בְּתוֹךְ שְׁאָר אֲבֵלֵי צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם

Mr. Gutzin was by far the best teacher I ever had! He was my history teacher at Bathurst Heights in the 60's. In his classroom, you neither daydreamed or talked to your neighbour. You paid attention and were frequently called upon for answers to his direct questions. You learned and benefitted from a caring, passionate educator. My sincere condolences. He left his mark on all of us.

It has been many years since Zel and I were friends in our youth and B`Nai Brith. Zel was always thoughtful and a pleasure to be with . I am so sorry to hear of his passing and wish my condolences to his family. I know so many thought so much of Zel and the tributes to his memory are so well deserved.

Dear Gutzin family, I was very saddened by the the bad news. I worked wit Zel for many years and found him to be very sensitive, smart, kind, gentle, friendly and funny. It was a real pleasure to work with such a professional gentleman who was alway there to help with a smile. Zel was very much appreciated by his many students and colleagues. Unfortunately, we are out of the country and will be able to covey our sympathy in person so please, accept our deepest condolences and may your memories with him be of comfort to all of you. Perach and Chaim Roifman

Saddened to hear of Zel's passing. We were not close friends nor did we socialize nor talk often on the telephone. But for many, many, many years we would meet almost every weekend to participate in what Zel loved to do, namely sports, be it ball hockey in the fall and winter, baseball in the summer and rush touch football in the fall. He was a part of a great group of friends who looked forward to seeing each other and having the time of our lives. Zel was a wonderful person to know and the memories of those times will always be with me.

So sad to hear of Mr Gutzins passing. By far he was one of my favourite teachers at CHAT. He brought American History alive every day in his classroom and made it enjoyable and worthwhile to study until 600. When my children were studying American History , I remembered and taught them all the key phrases he taught me 46 years ago. That’s education! A wonderful inspiring teacher and a true mensch. May his memory be a blessing.

Dear Maxine, Wolf, Shayla, Sheryl, David and the granddaughters. We will truly miss Zel, a warm, loving, kind-hearted person and our very dear friend for almost 60 years. Zel's constant and infectious smile was truly a reflection of his happy personality. It was always so enjoyable being in his company. So many wonderful memories beyond the dinners in recent years. Brenda playing racquetball with Zel. Not sure who cheated more. Baseball games, family skating at the City Hall, kids' birthday parties, celebrating bar @ bat mitzvahs, weddings and joyfully welcoming our grandchildren. We will always cherish his memory. He holds a special place in our hearts, now and forever. With love, Brenda and Marvin Zuker.

Dear Maxine, Wilf & Shayla, Sheryl and David, We are very sorry for your loss. Zel was a wonderful man. I (Jerry) recall being somewhat afraid of him as a shy Grade 10 student at Bathurst Heights (he was strict :)). But I really got to know him in the locker room at the "Y" where he always qvelled about his "son the lawyer" and his "daughter the doctor". He was so proud of you. And this was before we got to know you Wilf and Shayla and your beautiful daughters. Jerry and Janet

Mr. Gutzin taught me American history at CHAT and demonstrated how vital and important it was to gain knowledge of the past. He instilled in me a love for studying history, which I am fortunate to still engage in.

To Mrs Gutzin and family, I am so sorry to hear of Mr Gutzin’s passing. Entering CHAT in 1996 as a former second grade student of Mrs Gutzin’s at Associated, I remember his warm welcome and his continued good-natured presence and smiling tolerance of our adolescent excesses. I hope his memory is a balm to you and yours in your mourning.

To Wilf and family, Mr. Gutzin was one of my favourite teachers at CHAT and while being in the last class of the day with him, there was never a reason to rush through it. He made American history the relevant subject that I live to this day. May his memory be a blessing.

Baruch Dayan Emes! Having Mr. Gutzin as a teacher was special. It was so obvious he loved teaching and really cared about his students. His humour, kindness, warmth and caring made it so easy to learn. CHAT was lucky to have a teacher of his caliber and I have no doubt he will be sorely missed by all of his loved ones. Really a truly special person. Hamakom yinachem eschem b'toch shaar tzion b'yerushalayim!

We were saddened to learn of Zel's passing and our condolences to the family. I taught with Zel in the History department at Bathurst Heights S.S. for many years. I remember him as a gifted teacher, a supportive colleague, and highly moral individual. Zel was always ready with a quip and a smile. I'm sure there are countless students who were deeply influenced by his enthusiastic teaching and wise guidance. He will be missed but not forgotten.

I was so saddened to read of the passing of Mr Gutzin. He was my high school history teacher. I loved his classes. He was one of those special teachers that you never forget. He touched the lives of so many students, Sending my sincere condolences to his family.

And another voice of gratitude for having had the pleasure of being in Mr. Gutzin’s modern western civ course. An impactful human with far reaching compassion. My sincerest condolences.

So sroyy for the loss of your gentle intellingent sensitive husband and father. I have memories of meeting the two of you shopping at No Frills and having a wonderful break from shopping to chat and catch up. May his memory be a blessing to all of you

I am quite saddened to learn of his passing. He always looked fit and worked out religiously at the north Y and later Columbus Centre. He was the first teacher who made me think critically about historical events. Zel made history come alive and inspired me to major in History at university. I can still see him in his blue suit, adjusting his tie and writing student responses clearly and legibly on the blackboard. In his class, learning always took place and if you did your homework, you felt engaged in his classroom. May his memory be a blessing.

Life is random and fleeting. It was purely by accident that I happened upon this sad notice. You don’t know until you look back at the chapters of your life, the impact that people whom you’ve met along the journey will have on you. I sat in the back of Mr. Gutzin’s afternoon history class at Bathurst Heights SS, and had him for home room. I wasn’t a great student, more interested in having a good time than in World War II history, I got enough of that at home and at evening Hebrew school. Mr. Gutzin had a bit of a reserved sense of humour in class, but it was there, although his persona, to me anyway, was one of ivity and correctness. He did not appear to me to be judgemental although he did have his favourite students, of which I was not. Nevertheless I must commend his dedication and against the odds having taught a bunch of uninterested teenagers a little bit of how humanity evolved and what brought us here, that we, whether we realized at the time or would come to realize, that we stood on the shoulders of giants. Mr. Gutzin was one of those giants. I don’t recall him being particularly tall, but the positive impact of his lessons was lofty. Thank you, Mr. Gutzin.

ivity and correctness