Block Family
Shimon and Dvorah Block and their five children came to Calgary from the Ukraine in 1905. Scores of their descendants continue to enrich our community.
Anna Block married Alex Klickstein and moved to the United States, finally settling in Boston, where she raised three children. Younger brother Noah Block also moved to the U.S., to California.
Rose Block married Abe Satinovsky, a merchant in the town of Olds, where their three daughters were born. They were Josephine, Sunderland, Thelma Belzberg and Nettie Becker. The family moved to Calgary in 1939. (Abe’s nephew, Robert Sattin, lived with the Satinovsky family for many years.)
Tilley and her husband Simon Shulman also had three daughters: Emily Finkleman, Jean Libin and Nettie Sarvos. The Shulmans ran a tailor shop in Calgary.
Peter Block (1885-1972) married Rebecca Diamond (1895-1982), the daughter of Canmore/Calgary Jewish pioneer Philip Diamond. Peter and his in-laws ran a series of small businesses, including Central Dye Works, Central Auction Mart and the Anchor Cigar store.
Rebecca and Peter Block had one daughter, Martha Block. In 1945 Martha married Harry Cohen.
This excerpt from a recent Friends of the Hebrew University tribute dinner program aptly summaries Martha Cohen’s contributions to our community.
“From the new Mount Royal College (she was the first woman named to their board) to the Calgary Jewish Family Service (she was founder and first full-time social worker), to the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts and The Old Sun College, she has always been a leader.
“Her efforts have brought her community honours both nationally and internationally; her accomplishments as a dedicated volunteer are too extensive to list within this small program.”
