Cecile Edith Klein, Canada's oldest person, has passed away at 114
Montreal-born centenarian Cecile Edith Klein passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 13. Born in 1907, she lived through many of society's most defining events. At the age of 114, she was the oldest living Canadian.
She was born in the summer, June, to Louis Efros and Rebecca Pearson. The same year, Sigmund Freud first met Carl Jung in Vienna, the original metered taxi took to London’s streets, and, for the first time ever, music played on the radio.
She was known for her love of music and theatre. She also loved to learn. She spent many hours with the Cote St. Luc Drama Society, and attended Mini-Med lectures at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.
“At the age of 111, Klein could still read the newspaper without glasses, and she did,” read her death notice.
Klein was an avid traveller. Her late husband, Erwin Klein, who passed away in 1999, was her companion, and their grandchildren later joined them on worldly adventures. At the age of 102 and 103, she went on two cruises, one to Alaska and one in Mexico.
On June 18, 2021, she celebrated her 114th birthday in Montreal's west-end city of Côte Saint-Luc. On that particular day, she wore a small bejewelled plastic crown, sunglasses, a bright red shirt with a 'Birthday Girl' pin and was kept warm with blankets and pillows while her family gathered to celebrate her birthday.
She was beloved by her community.
"Our deepest condolences to the entire family on the passing of Cecile. She was such an inspiration to us all," wrote Mitchell Brownstein, the mayor of Côte Saint-Luc, in an email to community members.
"Celebrating her birthday at our annual Cote Saint Luc Dramatic Society musical productions each June was a highlight," he continued. "She was always smiling and positive enjoying Hairspray, Catch Me if You Can, and other shows."
Cecile is survived by her three children and their spouses, her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren, of whom there are too many to name.
Her funeral will be closed to the public.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.