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Obituary: Bernard ‘Barry’ Sherman

Popular Toronto benefactor who donated millions to Jewish, Canadian and international charities

December 28, 2017 11:20
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ByGloria Tessler, gloria tessler

4 min read

The unexplained deaths of Canadian philanthropist and pharmaceutical supremo Bernard Sherman and his wife Honey, shocked Canada’s Jewish and wider community. Prominent high society figures, they were among the country’s most generous donors. Hospitals, schools and major Jewish charities including the JNF and United Jewish Appeal all benefited from the couple’s multi-million dollar donations, as did the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre and the international American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Financial and business success prompted a magnanimous sense of responsibility. Sherman, 75 at his death, aided disaster zones to the tune of over $50 million through a dedicated pharmaceutical foundation, and the couple had buildings named in their honour. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hosted by the Shermans at a Liberal party fundraiser in 2015, tweeted “condolences to their family and friends and to everyone touched by their vision and spirit.”

Earlier this year, Sherman was named one of Canada’s most influential Jews and one of its richest men. In 1974, he founded Apotex, the Toronto-based drug giant that markets generic medicines around the world, and is now claimed to be the country’s largest pharmaceutical company. According to Forbes, he was the 12th wealthiest Canadian, with an estimated net worth of £2.7 billion at the time of his death.

But the couple wore their wealth lightly, and never flaunted it. Sherman had a passion for driving beaten-up cars. Linda Frum, a Canadian senator and close friend, expressing her shock at what she believed was a double murder, described them as being among the kindest and most beloved members of Canada’s Jewish community.