In Honor of our Dad

Standing at only 5' 1", Miklós (Miki) Mandel was nonetheless a man of stature. He was born on January 12, 1921 in Budapest Hungary to Jenö and Sara Mandel, their only child. His Hebrew name was Nechemiah and, by patrilineal descent, he was a Levite. As a young man, he studied in technical school and then rose up quickly at Tungsram, where he demonstrated a natural talent for improving quality control. By the age of 21, life turned tough. Whereas Gentile Hungarian men were inducted into the military, Jewish men became forced laborers. Miklós endured terrible hardships, witnessed great atrocities, and suffered incredible sorrows, including learning that his parents had been murdered by the Nazis. After the war, Miklós helped returning Jews find assistance. At the train station in Újpest, he saw a pretty Jewish girl and gave her a coupon for a free dinner. That girl, Veronika (Vera) Schwartz, became his sweetheart from that time onward, and they were married on March 4, 1947, in the Windsheim DP camp--a marriage that lasted for 65 wonderful years until his death in 2012. Along with Vera's brother, Zoltán (Zoli), the three of them escaped from a virulently antisemitic Europe, eventually traveling from Bremerhaven, Germany on the historic Ernie Pyle, a C-4 US military cargo ship, to the port of New York. From there, the three went to Montreal, where Vera's uncle lived. In their escape from Europe in the post-war years, Miklós, Vera, and Zoli left under the family name Schoenfeld, and Miklós assumed the name Johann. In Canada, he changed his name to John Stone. Some very close friends called him Miki, Vera called him Nick, and, later, his colleagues at Fleetwood and Belbois, where he worked, called him Joe. In Montreal, he built a wonderful life with Vera. In 1949, their first son, Mark, was born. In 1951, their second son, Garry, was born, but, sadly, Garry died as a toddler. In 1953, their third son, Gerald, was born. In 1955, their fourth son, Paul, was born. And, skipping the two-year beat, in 1966, their fifth son, David (your narrator), was born. Coming to Canada virtually penniless, Nick not only worked hard to provide a good city home for his growing family, he also bought a small cottage with lake rights in Ste. Agathe North. Later, he purchased uncleared land on the lakefront of Lac Magnan and eventually built a beautiful, winterized home, where his whole family would enjoy their time off throughout the year, swimming in the summers and skiing in the winters. When Nick and Vera reached their golden years, they traded in their city and country homes for condos in Cote St. Luc and West Palm Beach, and became snowbirds. They enjoyed this pattern--winters in Florida and summers in Montreal--for many many years, until Vera was too ill to travel. When that happened, Nick devoted every day to taking care of her, first at their home and then at the geriatric center she eventually moved into. He cheered her up and, indeed, cheered up all the staff. In mid-October, Nick's health significantly declined and he never regained the good health he had for most of his long life. On December 30th, 2012 (the 17th of Tevet, 5773, in the Hebrew calendar), with his son, Paul, by his side, he passed away peacefully.

Here, we honor the memory of Miklós. We will miss you dearly as long as we live.