Businessman, photographer.
Born at Winnipeg on 8 January 1930, son of Jewish immigrants Samuel and Malka Simovich, he graduated from St. John's High School in 1948. While preparing to study Architecture in Minneapolis in the 1950s, he was drafted into the US Army and served in the Korean War, receiving the Bronze Star and other commendations.
On returning to Winnipeg, he married Zelma Sirulnikoff and they had two daughters and a son. He worked as an architectural draftsman and project manager for Green Blankstein Russell and later partnered with two architects in forming their own firm. He was involved in establishing the Bel Acres Golf and Country Club in 1963.
In 1967, he moved with his family to Toronto, Ontario where he started a business, with three other partners, selling imprint tshirts. As President, he grew the business to approximately 25 locations across Canada and in Florida. Divorced in the mid-1980s, he sold his interest in the business and moved to Florida.
While visiting Winnipeg in 1987, he met and later married lawyer Gloria Mendelson. He developed an interest in photography and exhibited at shows and galleries in the US and Canada, including the Winnipeg Art Gallery. His focus was on urban and natural landscapes as well as abstract art.
He died at the Riverview Health Centre on 12 January 2020 and was buried in the Rosh Pina Memorial Park.
“Notice of application for private act,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 December 1962, page 40.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 January 2020.
Earl Joseph Simmons, FindAGrave.
We thank Gloria Mendelson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 February 2025
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