TORONTO – Jack Geller, a leader in the Toronto Jewish community, a distinguished lawyer, and a loving husband, father and grandfather passed away at his home Jan. 7 at age 84. 
 

Remembered for his grace, ethics and resilience, Geller was a trailblazer in both the Jewish and legal communities. 
 

In 1959, he became the first Jewish lawyer to become a partner in an establishment Toronto firm, and what followed was an illustrious career first in private practice and as vice-chair and acting chair of the Ontario Securities Commission.
 

Geller was a beloved member of Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple and served as its president from 1976 to 1978. He was named honorary life president in 1998. 
 

He was born in Toronto in 1930 to parents who had emigrated from Poland.
 

According to a 2010 interview conducted with Geller and his wife Sybil for the Law Society of Upper Canada “Diversifying the Bar: Lawyers Make History” project, Jack, who had two older sisters, first expressed wanting to be a lawyer as a child. 
 

He attended Forest Hill Public School and Forest Hill Collegiate, and, in 1951, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, where he was known as an excellent debater.
 

Geller met his wife Sybil in 1948, during his second week at U of T, where she was also studying. They met on the steps of the Royal Ontario Museum and, according to their daughter Dana, “When she saw him, she knew he was the one, and went after him.”
 

They married two weeks after graduating. 

 

Geller went on to study law at Osgoode Hall. Sybil worked as a secretary to put him through law school. 

Despite graduating with distinction in 1955, he initially struggled to secure a position. 
 

“There were no major non-Jewish firms at the time accepting Jews,” his daughter, Dana Lampe, said. “His criteria was that he wanted to be at a major law firm. Religion didn’t come into it.”

 

Geller eventually found a place at the firm Campbell, Godfrey & Lewtas, where he worked for many years.  

“Whatever his clients needed, he developed an expertise in it,” his daughter said. “He had a brilliant analytical mind… but I think his real forte was his interactions with clients, advising them.”
 

Though he frequently travelled during the week for work, he always made an effort to be home for Friday night dinner.
 

“When he was home with us, he’d read to us, tell us stories,” she recalled.
 

“He always went to bat for us,” daughter Jan Babins added. 
 

In 1992, Geller retired from his practice and became vice-chair of the OSC. Five years later, he took on, until 2001, the position of acting chair. 
 

His commitment to the Jewish community and to Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple, which he joined at age 17, was evident throughout his life. 
 

He and Sybil volunteered with groups such as Canadian Jewish Congress and regularly attended Friday night services at Holy Blossom. 
 

“In all his many communal activities, nothing was as dear and rewarding to him as Holy Blossom Temple and what it stands for,” said Rabbi Dow Marmur, rabbi emeritus at Holy Blossom.

 

“We learned from him not to sit on the sidelines,” Geller’s son Lawrence said. “And to do good… He wasn’t fussed about how we chose to do it, but taught us to be mentors.”
 

After suffering a stroke in 2002, Geller developed aphasia and spent five years working tirelessly to regain his reading abilities. Though he was sometimes difficult to understand, Sybil interpreted for him. 

He continued to participate in synagogue activities, such as board meetings.
 

“Everyone says they were blessed to have him in their lives,” Lampe said. “We all feel touched by having known him.”
 

Sybil, who has ALS and uses a computer to communicate, said what she’ll miss most about her husband is “his presence.” 

 

Geller is survived by his wife Sybil and four children – Dana, Larry, Jan and Harold – as well as six grandchildren.