My father, Louis Lazar, came to Canada at the age of 13 with his parents Rachael and Nathan Lazar. They came from Rogava, Latvia and settled in Bird's Hill, Manitoba where there was a Jewish colony and bush land was available free of charge. They worked the land and built a fine homestead.

My mother, Gertrude came to Canada with her parents, Sarah and Moses Daiter in 1911, and also settled in Bird's Hill on a homestead neighboring the Lazar's. My parents met and were married in 1919 in a small synagogue in Bird's Hill. They lived with my Lazar grandparents, and remained on the farm, expanding it into a large grain and dairy operation. My Dad was a superb mechanic and had the reputation of being able to fix anything. In1965 my parents retired and moved to Winnipeg, and once their health was no longer good, they moved to the Sharon Home. My Dad passed away at the age of 85 and my mother six years later, also at the age of 85.

I have four brothers, Sam, Eddie, Ronald and Lloyd. I left the farm at an early age and went to Isaac Newton High School and Success Business College in Winnipeg. I then worked as office manager at B. Freed Ltd. and at Silmacs Ltd., where I managed Secretarial Telephone Answering Service.

On May 31, 1942 I married Sid Stern. We have three children. Our daughter Ricki, born in 1945, is an X-Ray technician and lives in Toronto. She has three children, Marshall, Brenlee and Michael. Brenlee is married to Rodney Stafford and they have three children — Syrai, Mahala and Maguire, and Michael and his wife Amanda have a daughter, Emily. Our second daughter Carole, born in 1949, and her husband Terry Gutkin live in Winnipeg where Carole is a teacher and Terry a lawyer. They have two children Meghan and Shaun (who has a daughter Angelica). Our son Marvin, born in 1955, is a litigation lawyer in Surrey, B.C. His wife Sherri Silverman is an elementary teacher in Richmond, B.C., and they have two children, Micah and Max.

We were happy that our children were able to attend Jewish Schools — the girls at Peretz School and Marvin at the Talmud Torah. During the time they were there, I was involved with the parents' associations and with various fund-raising activities. I have also been involved with Na'Amat (Pioneer Women) for over 50 years where I served as President of Dvorah Drachler Chapter for several years, participated in Council projects such as Spiritual Adoption, Growing up with Na'Amat, and represented Winnipeg at national Na'Amat conventions in Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton. I am currently active with the Beth Israel Sisterhood.

The community has always been important to me and so I was pleased when our children established an endowment fund at the Jewish Foundation in honor of our 80th birthdays. I feel this is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community and to help where the needs are greatest.