Marcel Adams
August 2, 1920 – August 11, 2020
Peacefully, at home, on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, days after celebrating his one hundredth birthday. Beloved husband of the late Annie Cohen. Longstanding companion of the late Shirley Zimmerman. Loving father and father-in-law of Julian and Patti, Sylvan and Margaret, Linda and Gil Troy, and Leora Adams. Loving Zeida of Lauren Adams, Claire Adams and Ellery Althaus, and Johanna Adams; Drs. Sarah Adams and PJ Lucak, Rachel Adams and Alex Rincon, Naomi Adams and Kristoff Duxbury, Joshua and Katherine Adams; Lia, Yoni, Aviv, and Dina Adams Troy. Proud Great-Grandpa of Zella, Poppy, and Rowan. Dear brother of Alice Even, and predeceased by his other sisters, Bela Rivel, Beca Corpus, Meta Singer, and Rosie Windisch. Doting son of the late Jancu and the late Sheina Abramovici. Marcel will be fondly remembered by his nieces, nephews, family, and friends.
Marcel was known in his native Romania as “Solidu” – the solid one – which described him perfectly, encompassing both his physical and character strengths. A Holocaust survivor forced into slave labour, he never described himself thus, insisting “others in the camps suffered worse than I did”. Marcel escaped during the war and fled to Palestine in 1944, where he experienced the birth of the State of Israel and fought in its War of Independence. Post-war, he became an emissary (Shaliach) for the Jewish Agency, and was sent to Algiers and Marseilles, where his fluency in French was instrumental in helping organize orientation camps for North African Jews fleeing their expulsion as they prepared for Aliya. From there, Marcel and a friend decided to pursue new adventures, and they jumped on a ship to set sail for Canada, where Marcel soon met his beloved wife, Annie.
Marcel’s father, Jancu, was a peddler of animal skins in the old country, and a young Marcel was his best asset, often coming home on the family’s horse and buggy with more money than Jancu had asked Marcel to charge. So it was natural that Marcel found a job working for a Quebec City tanner, where his business acumen, brilliance with complicated arithmetic, which he computed in his head, and fluency in French made him a valuable asset to his Jewish employer, Mr. Bushenbaum. But one day, upon hearing Marcel Abramovici spell his name out to a customer over the phone, Bushenbaum told the young man, “your name is too long, you’re costing me a fortune in long distance bills. From now on, your name is Adams.” And so it was, Marcel legally changed his name, and his four children were born Adams.
Despite working long hours at the tannery and travelling Quebec’s back country to customers, Marcel was introduced to real estate by a lawyer at Quebec City’s only synagogue. The deal was to build a duplex, and the lawyer had lined up the land and builder. Marcel worked on this during weekends, succeeded under budget, and fully leased to residential tenants. He sold that deal and bought four others, succeeding each time through hard work, and in his words, with a little luck, as he always said that he was fortunate not to “break my neck” on those deals, as he knew very little in this field. Marcel also studied English at Université de Laval night school, where his phonetics lesson included “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.” Nevertheless, his endearing thick immigrant’s accent never left him.
Following a dispute with Mr. Bushenbaum over an offer to make Marcel a partner in the business, Marcel left his high paying job ($20,000 in 1953 was the equivalent of a seven-figure salary today) and became a full time real estate developer. He branched out from residential apartments to offices, and then became a pioneer in the emerging business of shopping centres, and built the first mall in Quebec City, La Canardière. The rest, as they say, is history, as Marcel went from strength to strength.
Marcel and Annie were always very charitable, even early on when they did not have great means. As Marcel’s success grew, so did his giving. As a passionate Zionist, he gave to many Jewish causes. In both, his love for Israel and in his philanthropy, he was a great role model for his family. Marcel never looked back, only forward as he worked hard to build a better life for himself and his family.
He never complained and kept a rosy optimism throughout his life. He had dozens of clever sayings and was a great storyteller. A private graveside service will take place. Marcel will be laid to rest next to his beloved wife, Annie, her parents, Bezalel and Suzie, and his mother, Sheina. In lieu of gifts or flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University, (514) 344-3417.
They do not make them like Marcel Adams anymore. Rest in peace, great man.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Marcel Adams 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Montreal, Province: Quebec