Gallia Chud, of Honoured Memory (1923

Portrait of Gallia Chud taken around 1995

Last Thursday on the 12th of Nissan, 5785 (י״ב בניסן תשפ״ה), beloved Peretznik Gallia Chud passed away at the age of 101.

Gallia was born to Nina and Harry Ullman in 1923 in Staraya Russa, just outside of what is now St. Petersberg, and immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada with her parents and sister Bebi (Betty) in 1929. She met Ben Chud at Camp Naivelt in Ontario and they married in 1943. At the end of the Second World War and upon Ben's release from the Canadian military, the couple moved to Vancouver to help found the Peretz School, where Ben was the first principal and taught Yiddish. Their daughters Gyda Chud and Rita Chudnovsky were born in Vancouver in the years to follow.

Gallia was a major force in the Peretz community, from her years leading the Peretz Muters Farein (or PTA) to her five years as president of the Peretz Board in the early 90s. She was a pivotal organizer of the Peretz’s Fraytik tsu Nakht cultural shabbes dinners, a role continued by her daughter Gyda. Gallia was an avid reader and member of several book clubs. She worked at Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia as well as at The Jewish Western Bulletin with editor Abraham Arnold. She was an active member of the Vancouver Outlook Collective, the United Jewish People's Order, and the National Council of Jewish Women.

Gallia dedicated her life to making a better world for future generations, based in her values of equity, diversity, and social justice. Her decades-long impact at Peretz and other Jewish cultural organizations has helped keep Jewish history and culture alive. Those who knew her will always treasure her passion and commitment to family, friends, Peretz, and world peace.

The Peretz Board and staff extend condolences to Gallia's family. We honour her memory.

A Celebration of Life will take place at the Peretz Centre over the summer with details to follow. Please feel free to share stories in the comments below or email info@peretz-centre.org

Further Reading:

"Making the World Better: The Peretz Honours Gallia Chud on Nov. 18," by Cynthia Ramsey, Jewish Independent (Nov. 2, 2012).
“Review of Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky," written by Gallia Chud, Outlook: Canada's Progressive Jewish Magazine (July/August 2006).
Oral history interviews from Jewish Museum & Archives (1997, 2009, 2009, 2009, 2020)
Interviews from "Focus on Jewish Education in BC" issue of The Scribe: The Journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, vol. 39 (2020/21).