Joseph and Joyce Herman

Scope and Content: Accession consists of material documenting Joseph and Joyce Herman. Included are thirty-three photographs taken at a gathering held at the Beth Ezekiel Synagogue in Owen Sound, Ontario, on 10 November 1993, on the occasion of their move to British Columbia.; Identified in the photographs are: Carol Brooman, David Brooman, Molly Cadesky, Sarah Cadesky, Marilyn Fedorenko, Rynaldo Fedorenko, Bernie Fishman, Myrna Fishman, Hy Fromstein, Sylvia Fromstein, Avrum "Av" Gorbet, Norman "Norm" Gorbet, Ruth Gorbet, Tillie Gorbet, Avrum Green, Emmy Green, Joe Herman, Joyce Herman, Steven Hershoran, Gary Levine, Julia Levine, Bertha Rabovsky, Mike Rabovsky, Miriam Rabovsky, Karen Rich, Lorne Rich, Goldie Ronald (née Rabovsky), and Alisa Van Wyck.; Also included are two textual records: a copy of the speech given by Tillie Gorbet at the 1992 synagogue event held in honour of Joyce when she stepped down as synagogue president and Joyce’s acceptance speech from the same event.

Administrative History: Joe Herman (29 April 1925–21 April 2005) was born in Toronto. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at age seventeen and trained as a navigator. He was a graduate of the the School of Optometry of Ontario. Joyce (11 July 1927–23 April 2020) was born Roslyn Joyce Cainer in Miami, Florida. Her family returned to Toronto in 1929. Joe and Joyce married in 1948 and moved first to Timmins, Ontario, and then to Owen Sound, where they lived for thirty-seven years. Joe maintained his optometric practice in Owen Sound from 1956 to 1993, with Joyce working alongside him in the office. Joyce was a weaver and an active member of the Pottawatomi Spinners and Weavers Guild and the Maker’s artist cooperative. Joe and Joyce had three children: Shawn Herman Hawkins, Nessa Herman, and David Herman.; Joyce was president of Owen Sound’s Beth Ezekiel Synagogue from about 1973 to 1992. She was possibly the first woman president of a synagogue in Canada. Her father (Israel) David Cainer was president of Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue from 1943 to 1945.

Use Conditions: Conditional Use. Researchers must receive permission from the donor prior to publication. Please contact the OJA for more information.

Descriptive Notes: Availability of other formats: Accession has been digitized: photographs are available as JPEG images; textual records are available as PDF files.; Terms governing use and reproduction: Not to be used for external advertising in any medium. Permission to publish required.; General: Av Gorbet's wife is Tillie Gorbet, and Norm Gorbet's wife is Ruth Gorbet. The four were owners of B. Gorbet and Sons Furriers and clothing store.

Name Access: Beth Ezekiel Synagogue (Owen Sound, Ont.); Herman, Joseph, 1925-2005; Herman, Joyce, 1927-2020