Leokadia (Lola) Ebert (née Finkelsztejn)

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Leokadia "Lola" Ebert who left us on Friday, October 10, 2025, peacefully in her residence in Ottawa 5 days shy of her 103 rd birthday. Lola was born on October 15, 1922, in Grojec, Poland, to the late Icek (Isaac) Finkielsztejn and the late Chana (Hannah) Finkielsztejn (née Bitter).

Lola lived a remarkable life. As a Holocaust survivor she went through loss and sorrow but never allowed herself to be a victim instead dedicated herself to living a life of family, love, compassion and lifetime learning. In 1934, she and her family left Grojec and settled in Lodz where she excelled in school and Jewish cultural life. In October 1939 following the Nazi invasion of Poland, she decided to leave Poland for Russia in order to continue her education as Polish laws forbade Jews from attending university. She was unable to convince her family to join her and left Lodz. She would never see her parents or grandparents again and would not see her sisters Esther(Edjia) and Dinah(Dynczia) until almost 20 years later when they would be reunited in Montreal in 1958. She enrolled in school in Kiev in November 1939. In June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union and  Lola fled east and wound up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she enrolled in civil engineering in the Technical University. In January 1946 she married Henryk Margules, a Polish Army officer wounded in the war in 1939. Their son was born in Wroclaw, Poland in March 1949. Lola and Henryk were divorced in 1957. In October 1958 Lola and her son emigrated to Canada to join her sisters Esther and Dinah. In 1961, she married David Ebert and in April 1962 gave birth to a son Daniel. Although a practicing civil engineer in Poland, she was unable to find employment as an engineer in Canada and joined the accounting department of the Montreal Children’s Hospital where she worked until her retirement in 1998. She is survived by her sister Esther, sons Irving (Jurek) and Daniel and their spouses Denyse and Caroline, grandson Isaac, nephews Irving and Harry Frielich and niece Anne David (spouse Eli David). Lola was a lifelong member of the Workmen’s Circle which with diminishing membership over the years has donated its building to Auberge Shalom. We wish to thank doctors and staff at The Courtyards at Eagleson in Ottawa for their dedicated care of Lola over the past few years. Lola will be remembered as a nurturing mother, a devoted friend, and a light in the lives of all who knew her. Her warmth, wisdom, and love will live on in our hearts.

 Funeral service from Paperman & Sons, 3888 Jean Talon St. W. on Friday, October 17 at 11:00 a.m. Burial at the Montreal Workers’ Circle Association Cemetery, de la Savane. A reception to follow immediately after the burial details to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Lola’s memory may be made to Auberge Shalom, click here.