Phyllis (Fuzzy) Zinman Teitelbaum was born in Montreal in 1935. Fuzzy was a graduate of the school for teachers at MacDonald College. She moved to Ottawa in the late 1950s with her first husband, Eddie Zinman, who was a psychologist at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. He was diagnosed with MS in 1976 and, after he died in 1989, a friend from Montreal introduced Fuzzy to Justice Max Teitelbaum who had lost his first wife to cancer. According to Fuzzy’s son, David Zinman, “They fell in love and lived happily for nearly 18 years.” Fuzzy’s two sons, Eric and David, joined Max’s three daughters, Zeeva, Jeannie and Reisa, and became one big family. “Fuzzy took over my children and grandchildren like they were all hers,” said Max. “She was so wonderful and such a caring person ... she was an outstanding mother to her kids, an outstanding grandparent to my grandchildren.” Although none of her immediate family had been directly affected by the Holocaust, Fuzzy was dedicated to Holocaust education. She was a past-chair of the Shoah Committee of Ottawa and was even involved in a group in Florida where she and Max spent their winters. Fuzzy retired after 24 years at her teaching post at Hillel Academy in June 1993. She began her career teaching grade two for the Protestant School Board in Montreal in the early 1950s. The four room school house in the city's north end was called Crystal Springs. She never taught grade two again until her last year at Hillel. She influenced the lives and careers of many members of Ottawa’s Jewish community. She died December 8, 2010.
Related material in the Ottawa Talmud Torah Board fonds
1. Biographical sketch taken from OJB articles of June 21 1993 and Jan 25 2010.
textual material
Fonds consists of five file folders: 1. Hillel Academy 1979 yearbook 2. Jewish Community Center Theatre Guild program and news clippings for"An Inspector Call" 1962 3. Program for Hillel Academy 30th Anniversary Dinner and Memorial Service in tribute to Golda Meir 1978 held at Beth Shalom 4. Ottawa Talmud Torah Board Permanent Teacher's contract 1976 5. Song sheet (transliteration of Haleluyah) undated
Phyllis (Fuzzy) Zinman Teitelbaum fonds.