Sheldon “Obie” OBERMAN (1949-2004)
Born in Winnipeg on 20 May 1949, he was the son of Allan Oberman (1916-1995) and Dorothy “Dot Dobie” Stein (1925-2008). He attended St. John’s High School then studied literature at the University of Winnipeg and University of Jerusalem. He returned to Winnipeg in 1973, received a teaching degree, and taught English and Drama at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate for nearly 30 years.
He married Lisa Dveris and they had three children: Jesse Oberman, Adam Oberman, and Mira Oberman.
Educator, Writer, Storyteller
He began writing in the mid-1970s, eventually publishing twelve books: The Folk Festival Book: The Stories of the Winnipeg Folk Festival (1984), Mirror of a People: Canadian Jewish Experience in Poetry and Prose(1985), The Lion in the Lake (1988), Julie Gerond and the Polka Dot Pony (1988), TV Sal and the Game Show from Outer Space (1993), This Business with Elijah (1993), The Always Prayer Shawl (1994), The White Stone in the Castle Wall (1
995), By the Hanukkah Light (1997), The Shaman’s Nephew: A Life in the Far North (1999), The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba (2000), and The Island of the Minotaur (2003). He acted and directed in film and stage plays and he toured North America as a storyteller. He wrote columns and freelance articles for the Winnipeg Free Press and published children’s songs, stories, and poems in magazines, journals, and anthologies.
He died at the St. Boniface Hospital on 26 March 2004 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
Sources:
- Reprinted with permission from Manitoba Historical Society and updated.
- Find a Grave, Memorial #12793794.
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