Shirley Simon (Née Berk)

Shirley Berk Simon passed away peacefully in her 106th year. Predeceased by her beloved husband of sixty-two years, Alberto, and by her sister, Ruth Smith. She is mourned by her children Fred and Adele, Sherry and Eleanor, and Richard and Lorraine; by her grandchildren David and Erika, Cynthia and Josh, Noémi and Moussa, and Tobie, and Lianne, by her great-grandchildren Lexi, Allie and Evan, Avi, Clara and Juliette, as well by her many nieces and nephews. Shirley will be missed by her most loyal friend Gabriel Safdie, her art pals Eva Juul and Tzippy Corber, and by Michel Tousignant, François Renaud and Dominic Dubé. Shirley spent some seven years at Chateau Westmount where she was given warm and affectionate care. A special thanks to Hawa, Julie, Kim, and Jennalyn.

Shirley Berk was born in Toronto in 1918 and although she wanted to become an artist, she agreed to complete a physiotherapy diploma at the University of Toronto. She was barely 18 when she came to Montreal on her own to finish her training and fell in love with the city first and a certain handsome doctor next. She was an exceptional mother to her three children, and a devoted doctor’s wife, but always had some extra source of stimulation—whether helping to organize adult education at the Snowdon Y (where she set up possibly the first French theatre course) or giving classes for post-partum patients. Once her children were grown, she started several new careers. First she returned actively to physiotherapy, taking a job at Notre Dame hospital where she proudly immersed herself in the French language and community. She took courses in sexology at UQAM. When she was in her 60s she started a BA in Fine Arts at UQAM, learned to weld at Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende, then completed a Masters at Concordia. Pictures of her with her fellow students show her looking almost as youthful as them; only her perfect hairdo stands out.

As an artist, Shirley became ever more creative, ever more confident, as she developed a strong sense of what she wanted to express. Her installations were especially dear to her, as they spoke out on issues like care for the aged and vulnerable. But a lot of her work was playful: her animal-like sculptures, her dripped inks, her stunning jewelry. For years she worked every morning in her atelier at home, in the apartment overlooking the river, filled with the sheer pleasure of her artistic energy. If any of us came across a piece of old wood, rusted machinery, or bones, our great happiness was to deliver it to Shirley.  

‘I have an idea’, Shirley would announce on the phone—sometimes for a birthday present (she was strict about birthdays, there had to be a good present and it had to be in time for the celebration), sometimes for a party, or for the donation of an art work she wanted to make or a scholarship she wanted to set up. She was always getting ideas and she acted on them, making sure that things got done. 

In 2018, Shirley had a massive brain bleed.  She spent 6 weeks at the Neuro and then went on to Chateau Westmount where, though gradually declining, she continued to delight staff and visitors with her smile and her spirit.

Funeral service from Paperman & Sons, 3888 Jean Talon St. W., on Sunday, September 8 at 1:00 p.m. Burial at the Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom Congregation Section, Eternal Gardens Cemetery, Beaconsfield. Shiva at 5415 Jeanne-Mance Sunday following burial until 9:00 p.m. Donations in Shirley’s memory may be made to the Shirley and Albert Simon Memorial Fund for Palliative Care ℅ the Jewish General Hospital Foundation: (514) 340-8251 or click here.