MarionWarhaft.com

My mother, Marion Warhaft was a complex woman.  She was also very talented - a great cook, and an excellent writer. She was devoted to her friends and family and would fight viciously on their behalf when they needed help.


Those who knew her, knew her to be a very private woman - a little surprising given her somewhat glamorous lifestyle. She loved her notoriety, but  at the same time she was what she had always been -  a shy little girl inside. My mother Marion grew from her lonely childhood in the North End to become a become an extremely attractive, successful and popular woman. In looks she was often compared to Ava Gardner or Hedy Lamarr.- Personally, I think Hedy Lamarr…              

In her mid 20's she moved to New York City for 5 years. She came to consider herself a true New-Yorker. That experience  is what, in her words, formed her as a person. Her subsequent marriage and life with my father fulfilled her deeply - it was truly a fairy-tale life they led. She loved cooking for her family and she was well known for the parties she and Sid threw. She also loved all the travelling they did.


After my dad's death she threw herself into her new career.  Becoming a restaurant critic gave her direction and meaning in her life, and she was good at it. It was always a treat to go on an ‘incognito review' with her.


My mother strove to be honest and she was a perfectionist when it came to her writing. She never considered herself a great writer, but generally her columns were little gems full of knowledge, humour, and delicious food. She was responsible for educating  many Winnipeggers about the real meaning and joy of food. I am proud that she was such a powerful influence on the gastronomic development of Winnipeg.


On a personal note, my mother gave me, amongst other things, the deep love of food and travel that are truly at the core of my being. I will love her and miss her always.


Marion will be missed by friends, Ruby, Razie, Dena, Ruth, and Annie. Also by dear

family members, Marilyn, Trudy, Cindy, Martin Minuck, Mavis, Bonnie, Simone, and

Samuel...


She once said, "You know - I've had a pretty good life!"


The pain is over. Goodbye my mother.


Goodbye Marion Warhaft





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I want to thank Rabbi Kliel Rose for his kindness and his lovely eulogy.  


Rabbi Rachel Barenblat likens cooking to prayer - "A set liturgy is like a beloved old cookbook, handed down through the generations. In its best incarnations, the recipes are tried and true. Though some recipes are geared toward novice cooks, and others might be a real stretch unless you cook every day and are practiced in the kitchen, the basic techniques involved are familiar to anyone who's handled a bulb of garlic or a knife."


Each of us in our prayer life is a chef responsible for creating food that both fills the belly nutritiously and makes the taste buds soar.  Uninspired cuisine is a missed opportunity for joy, but a diet of nothing but twinkies is a missed opportunity for health.  Just so, prayer…


The purpose of a eulogy is supposed to encapsulate two distinct ideas – 'Chesed' kindness and 'Emet' truth.


So I think this is how Marion lived her life – she was always truthful and ethical in the way she wrote. Even when at times it wasn't always flattering to the restaurant or owner she offered her truth.  And she was solid in her convictions, and that in my humble opinion makes her a person who was, as they say in the Talmud, an 'Isha K'sherah' - a person of integrity.  She was very much a good and decent person.


May the soul of Marion continue to be a blessing to her son and everyone who knew her… May her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.