"Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime.
And, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sheila and Ken Katz agree that their life is in many ways sublime. Their story, documented here for the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba's Endowment Book of Life, will be a footprint whereby future generations will know that they passed this way.

I was born in Dauphin, Manitoba on January 3, 1937, the only daughter of Sybil (Buckwold) and Saul Bay. I have one brother, Jack. My paternal grandparents were Gertrude (Cherniack) and Eli Bay and my maternal grandparents were Bessie (Silverstein) and Jacob Buckwold. I remember Gramma Buckwold making strudel and it was Gramma Bay that introduced me to bagels!

I loved growing up in a small town! My Dad owned a men's wear store but outside of work, he loved to spend time with his family. My Mom enjoyed her home, helping my brother and I with our school work and making life pleasant for us — including building an ice rink in the back yard! She also enjoyed going "downtown" for coffee with her friends. My parents were involved in the Lions Club and the Lionelles.

I attended Mackenzie, Smith Jackson and Dauphin Collegiate. I loved school and had lots of friends. I was a cheerleader, played basketball, and enjoyed curling and track and field. I worked on the year book in High School which may have helped me some years later when I became a secretary.

I moved to Winnipeg in 1954. On a double date, I met Ken Katz — each of us was with another date! But eventually we got together and we were married on August 31, 1958 at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.

Sheila and Ken:

Today we are blessed with 3 children, Brian, Marty and Barry and 6 grandchildren: Noa, Sacha, Maya, Mackenzie, Ethan and Sophie. We love our daughters-in-law and are thrilled to watch our grandchildren growing up! We are so proud of the men our sons have become and the family entities they have created.

We each enjoy our own passions - working out and gardening (Sheila) and reading, visiting the Squash Club and cars (Ken). Since Dauphin is still "home" for Sheila, we look forward to visits there with her brother, sister-in-law and cousins. Our children have wonderful memories of summers at Dauphin Lake!

The community is also important to us and we have many wonderful friends. Sheila was involved at the Laidlaw School when her children were younger, and also volunteered with the Jazz Winnipeg Festival. Our hope is that the community will continue to grow and thrive.

And for our family, we can only wish them happiness, good health and good fortune. In other words, a life that is "sublime".

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