Pharmacist, photographer.
Born in Russia on 21 November 1909, one of five children of merchant Wilfred Saidman (c1878-1960) and Manya “Mary” Saidman (?-1980), he came to Canada with his family in 1914.
In 1932, he received a Pharmacy degree from the University of Manitoba then practiced as a pharmacist for 25 years. He also opened a photography studio called “Sam the Cameraman” in 1955 and operated it for 20 years. Nearing retirement, he started the Woodrow Fine Arts Gallery.
He was married twice, first to Clara Leitzman (1910-1946) with whom he had a son, Lee Saidman (1934-2001). He later married Nancy Kathryn Eyden (c1919-1980, daughter of Jean Sayer Eyden). He was an accomplished musician, a dog show judge, an antique car collector, and a patron of the arts.
He died at his WInnipeg home on 3 February 1985 and was buried in the Hebrew Sick Benefit Cemetery.
1931 Canada census, Ancestry.
Death registration [Clara Saidman], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Clara Saidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 16 March 1946, page 18.
“Funeral Thursday for Wilfred Saidman, 82,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 1960, page 20.
Obituary [Nancy Kathryn Saidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 14 July 1980, page 51.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 February 1985. page 62.
Obituary [Lee Saidman], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 2001.
Sam Saidman, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 November 2025
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