Profile

Cyril was born in 1936 to Harry and Sonia Shenker and grew up in an affluent suburb of Cape Town called Sea Point. He was the youngest of three children. The eldest child, Doreen, was eight years older than Cyril while the second child, Lionel, was six years older. The father ran a kosher deli called Spotless Foods that Cyril’s mother helped at. The family kept a kosher home.

When he was eighteen, Cyril moved to Johannesburg in order to find work. His first job came in the form of an order picker at Stanley Electrical Wholesalers. In 1962, he bought shares in the company and for the next twelve years he bought and sold shares in different companies. In 1974, he sold his interest in Viceroy, a hardware store, before immigrating to Canada.

The 1960s were a happy time for Cyril for personal as well as professional reasons. In 1960, Cyril married Denise Weinberg. The ceremony was held in Denise’s hometown at Brakpan Shul. Denise’s father, Nathan, was actively involved in the shul and the Jewish community generally. Upon marrying, the newlyweds settled in Johannesburg, where they had three daughters: Michelle Hilary (born in 1961), Lauren Ruth (born in 1963), and Gayle Ann (born in 1968).

Concerned about South Africa’s political future, the family immigrated to Canada in 1975. Soon after arriving, they joined Beth Tikvah Synagogue. All three daughters eventually married at the synagogue and several of Cyril and Denise’s grandchildren have celebrated their bar and bat mitzvahs there. For the first three years, the Shenkers stayed in a townhouse at Bayview and York Mills, after which they moved to a nearby house.

Following his arrival in Canada, Cyril bought and sold several businesses including Irwin Hardware, Allied Agencies, and Port Style Enterprises. He retired in 2014.