Jack Bleviss Family
When Jack Bleviss came to Canada in 1925, he promised his wife Annie (Kirshenbaum) and his five children, Ziggy, Joe, Ida, Art and Diane, that he would bring them over as soon as he could afford the fares.
In 1927 he kept his word; he sent the monies and they happily left Radom, Poland, and came by ship and train to Calgary. In the ensuring years the family grew by four more children: Lillian, Saul, Fran and Miriam.
Born in 1890, Jack Bleviss was a merchant in Radom. He came to Canada as an unsponsored immigrant, and worked as a farm labourer near Taber. After his family settled in Calgary, he became a cattle dealer, traveling with a truck to buy and sell cattle throughout Southern Alberta.
Jack Bleviss was active in many Jewish organizations, most notably the Polish Jewish Family Loan Association, of which he was a founder.
Five of Jack’s brothers and sisters, as well as his parents, also came to Calgary. They were Etta (Myer Switzer), Saul (Mary Pullman), Max (Chana Wolfe), Deena (David Cooper), and Anna (Harry Davidman). The parents Zacharia and Mindell (Switzer) Bleviss, moved to California in the 1930’s.
Annie (Chana) and Jack Bleviss raised their nine children in a large but busy house on 4th Street E. Annie took in boarders, and often fifteen to twenty persons could be found at the Bleviss dinner table.
A brief list of the children of Jack and Annie Bleviss:
Eldest son Julius (Ziggy) Bleviss married Sarah Rosenthal. They had four children: Bella (d.1989), Morris, Joey and Linda. Ziggy is well known as a long-time president of the Chevra Kadisha.
Joe Bleviss married Leah Motkovitch and raised three children in Edmonton: Allan, Morley and Sharon. A businessman, he died in 1978.
Ida married Morris Antflick and also moved to Edmonton, where Morris is a men’s wear retailer. Ida and Morris Antflick have four children: Sydney, Cecille, Jerry and Renee.
Art (Abe) Bleviss married Rita Jones; they live in Edmonton, where Art was in the furniture business.
Dinah and her husband Morris Sobel live in Toronto, where they had four children, Marilyn, Allan, Jay and Natalie. Morris was a hotel operator and an exercise authority, and at 80 still leads fitness classes.
Lily Bleviss married Leon Zimmerman, an insurance agent; they have a son Melvin, and a daughter, Cheryl, and still live in Calgary.
Frances and Harvey Viner also live in Calgary, and had three sons: Leslie, Sidney and Gary (d.1969). Harvey has been a furrier, operating Renfrew Furs.
Saul Bleviss married Marguerite Herman. Their three children are Jeffrey, Norman and Brenda; Saul has had varied business interests, including upholstery furniture and ladies’ wear.
Miriam (Mim) Bleviss married Leslie Diamond, a Calgary attorney; there are three children: Sari, Tyler and Jerrold.
Jack Bleviss died in Calgary in 1964 at the age of 72. Annie Bleviss lived to the blessed age of 97 years, passing away in 1992,
