Memorable Manitobans: Daniel “Danny” Gutkin (1916-2005)

Pharmacist.

Born at Winnipeg on 7 March 1916 to Celia Robbins and Max Gutkin, he was raised in the North End, completed high school at St. John’s High School, and in 1941 graduated from the University of Manitoba School of Pharmacy. In 1942, he married Dorothy Bartfield (1918-2005), whom he had courted since they were teenagers in their shared neighbourhood, and with whom he went on to have two children. For over 50 years, he served the city as a pharmacist, apprenticing at Service and Ringer’s Drugs, owning and operating the West End Pharmacy and the Mall Drug, and then becoming an associate with Shopper’s Drug Mart.

He was highly respected for his knowledge and skills, his compassion for his customer-patients, and his dedication to charities and community service organizations, including Kiwanis and B’nai Brith. He received honours from both the Manitoba and Canadian Pharmaceutical Associations for outstanding service by a pharmacist to their community, including one of his profession’s highest accolades, the prestigious Bowl of Hygeia, presented to him in 1984. He was also recognized by colleagues abroad when the research facility at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, was named the Danny Gutkin Room in his honour.

Post-retirement, he volunteered his services as a pharmacy consultant at the Shopper’s Drug Mart at Redwood and Main, and on CJOB Radio, where he answered call-in questions from listeners about medications. From his school days on, he organized special events, including variety shows for different charities, for which he often brought celebrities from around the world to Winnipeg. In 1994, he co-founded the Winnipeg Retired Senior Professional and Businessmen’s Club, a group of seniors who met weekly for lunch and to discuss with guest speakers topics ranging from sports figures and celebrities to professional and political leaders. He was also known for his entertaining sense of humour and his exceptional piano talents; it was rare that a room he was in was not filled with music and laughter.

He died at Winnipeg on 28 September 2005 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 2005.

Daniel Gutman, SKE & CHE Family Tree, Ancestry.

Celia Gutkin, Geni.

This page was prepared by Lois Braun.

Page revised: 10 January 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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