Obituary
Jack died on Saturday night, November 8, 2025, moments after his beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders sealed a come-from-behind victory to secure a spot in the Grey Cup. He was recently diagnosed with advanced liver cancer and had begun treatment, but his health declined rapidly and – as he definitely would have wanted – he left this life quickly. Jack was adamant that his body be donated to science, which has been done. As with most things, Jack did it his way.
Jack (named Jacob Moses) was born on November 14, 1940, in St. Boniface (now Winnipeg), Manitoba, to Rachel Lea Lev and Zachariah Koslofsky (later changed to Kay). Throughout his life, Jack was very close with his siblings, Bailah Burns (d. 2018), Charna Gilman, and Iser Kay, and their spouses. Jack grew up in the north end of Winnipeg, spending a few years in Regina, Saskatchewan in his later teens.
Jack received his formal training and graduated as a registered psychiatric nurse in Weyburn, Saskatchewan at what was then called the Weyburn Mental Hospital. There he met his first wife, Thelma Mary Wingert (d. 2016), who was also training as an RPN, and their daughter Katherine was born in Weyburn soon after. His mentor Dr. Abram Hoffer was one of several lifelong friends from that time.
After graduating, Jack joined the pharmaceutical business, where he would spend the rest of his career, beginning as a “detail man” with Poulenc in Winnipeg and then building a start-up called Sabra Pharmaceuticals. While living in Winnipeg, Jack and Thelma were blessed with the additions of Patricia and Shawn to the family.
Jack’s next move in the pharmaceutical business was to Montreal to join ICN Canada Pharmaceuticals in 1973, where he rose through the ranks to ultimately be a senior executive at that company. In 1982, Jack took a flyer and joined Barry Sherman at Apotex Inc. in Toronto (a then fledging company), where he would ultimately become the CEO until his (involuntary) departure in 2018. Together, Barry and Jack – kibbitzing back and forth through their adjoining offices – built Apotex into the amazing Canadian success story it became. Jack and Barry were extremely close (even as they would sometimes grumble at each other like the two Muppet old guys in the balcony), and they shared a steadfast commitment to improving lives through medicine and giving back to their communities. Jack was absolutely devastated when Barry and Honey were murdered. While Jack said he did not believe in the afterlife, we leave room for the idea that there is more kibbitzing going on in a world beyond.
After Jack left Apotex, he continued his work on various corporate and charitable boards. As news of Jack’s passing has spread, tributes from his business colleagues and friends have been flooding in. The family is very grateful to receive multiple descriptions of Jack’s generosity, mentorship, support, and encouragement, and the way he treated everyone he met with respect and kindness. Throughout his life, Jack demonstrated a fierce commitment to doing the right thing, upholding the right values and giving back to a range of causes and communities.
On the home front, after moving to Toronto Jack met his life partner Pat and they married in 1987. Their sons Zachary and Joshua followed soon after (the receptionist at Apotex advised a caller some months prior that Jack was not in the office because he was having his vasectomy reversed).
Jack valued family above all else, carving out time for and cherishing spending time with his children and his grandchildren: Alannah and Cole (d. 2021); Shawn and Aaron; Marisa and Zane; and Olivia, William and James. Zaida was not so traditional a grandparent – wrestling and playing was more his style than the dispensing of sage words, although there was also plenty of that. He enjoyed vacation and travel with kids and grandkids, as well as just hanging out – often with some sporting event on in the background, or working on a puzzle, or generally shooting the shit – being with family was Jack’s happy place.
Jack’s five children and their spouses (Michael Meltzer, Michael Schlesinger, Amanda Legeny and Ayda Tabrizi) join his loving wife Pat, his siblings, father-in-law Myles McCormick, many nieces and nephews, and the rest of the extended family and close friends in feeling both overwhelming sadness about Jack’s death and pride in the legacy he has left behind. Jack was a guy with humble roots and an outsize influence on the lives of the many people he touched. He lived his life with optimism, a spirit of adventure, a strong sense of right and wrong, a playfulness, and a desire to leave the world a better place.
Memory wall
We both worked for Poulenc Freres in the Prairies
We remained friends throughout our careers
I will miss him
Jack was an exceptionally successful businessman, but what made him truly remarkable was his integrity. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Barry Sherman in building Apotex into something extraordinary, and he earned respect not because of his title, but because of his honesty, fairness, and the way he treated people.
What stood out to us most was his kindness. Jack had a gift for making everyone, no matter who they were, feel respected, valued, and seen. He lifted people up. He believed in them. He made people feel like they really mattered.
Despite his accomplishments, Jack was never one for fanfare. Success never changed him. He remained grounded, loyal, and deeply devoted to people he cared about. Pat, his children, and his grandchildren were his world, and his happiest moments were always the simple ones spent with them.
We will forever remember Jack’s big heart, his generosity, his humor, and the quiet, steady way he made life better for everyone around him. It was truly a privilege to call Jack our friend.
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His family would be particularly grateful for donations to any of the Neshama Hospice, Humber River Hospital Foundation, Daily Bread Food Bank, or Terry Fox Foundation.
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