TORONTO — Victor Topper, left, was a renaissance man who combined his expertise in business and art when he and his wife, Renee, opened Topper Gallery, specializing in Asian and ethnic art, some 15 years ago after he closed the fur business his father had established a generation earlier.
An amateur photographer, family man, Yiddishist, nature and music lover – with eclectic taste ranging from classical to liturgical, jazz, folk and pop– Topper was a founder of Bialik Hebrew Day School and served as chair of United Jewish Appeal’s fur trade division. A former president of the Fur Council of Canada, he was a State of Israel Bonds honoree in 1983, and served on the boards of the Jewish Public Library and Beth Tzedec Congregation.
Topper died Jan. 21 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, following a year-long illness. He was 77.
Earlier this month, Beth Tzedec dedicated its Shabbat Shirah weekend in his memory.
Topper’s interest in art was sparked on his honeymoon in 1954, when an older couple – an Asian art expert and his wife– befriended Topper and his bride, and bought them an ivory carving as a gift.
A native of Toronto who attended Forest HillCollegiate, Topper received his BA from Carleton College (now Carleton University) in Ottawa, where he also played pro football for the Ottawa Rough Riders.
He spent much of his childhood first in a Catholic children’s centre, then in a series of Jewish foster homes and living with relatives – sometimes sleeping three-in-a-bed, head-to-foot, with his cousins – because his mother had contracted tuberculosis when he was about four years old, and was unable to care for him for a period of time that lasted more than six years,Renee told The CJN.
Topper, whose first language was Yiddish – his parents having immigrated from Russia – “felt there was a need for a school in Toronto that would teach Yiddish,” Renee said. Their oldest daughter, Lori Chadwick, was in Bialik’s first kindergarten class.
During his years at Reliable Fur Dressers and Dyers, Topper travelled extensively for business, seeking out galleries wherever he went.
The couple ran two art shows at Beth Tzedec, and Victor often lectured about art at museums, galleries and service groups while he was still working in the fur business.
In a eulogy at Topper’s funeral, Beth Tzedec’s Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl referred to him as “a kind and generous man, a man of integrity, a mensch.”
He and Renee brought diverse interests to the synagogue and sponsored many programs there, the rabbi told The CJN. He will be “deeply missed” by the congregational community, Rabbi Frydman-Kohl added.
Topper leaves Renee, his wife of 54 years; children Lori Chadwick, David, Randi Saks of St. Catharines, and Sari Romberg of Phoenix; and 12 grandchildren.