Abraham Starkman

I chose Abraham as my hero because he is my grandfather and he saved people when he was in the war. I also chose him because he is my dad’s dad.

Abraham was born in a small town in Poland called Ostrotzer. He got caught up in the Second World War in 1939. My grandmother, Paula Goodman, was put in a concentration camp. Abraham fought the Nazis as a part of the Polish underground unit. His job during the war was to blow up bridges at night so the Nazis could not move tanks and other large equipment across rivers. After the war, he met Paula who he married in France. They moved to Toronto, Canada.

Abraham had two sons, Joseph, the oldest, and Raymond. Joe is my dad. Abraham played hockey and was a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Paula owned a store called Paula’s Originals. Now Raymond owns Paula’s Originals.

Joseph moved to Calgary, became an architect and got married to Tracey Dolihan from Kimberly, B.C. Raymond still lives in Toronto. Joe has three kids, Sidney 12, Max (me) 10, and Jesse 8.

Abraham was fluent in Polish, Hebrew, and English. He started smoking and eating non-healthy foods. He died of a stroke when he was 72 years old. I never met him, but I would have liked to.