While Lionel Segal earned his living as a notary and a senior director for the State of Israel Bonds, he really could have been successful as a standup comedian.
Lionel, also a former Côte Saint-Luc city councillor, passed away peacefully last Saturday. He spent the last few years of his life at the Waldorf seniors residence on Côte St. Luc Road and then the Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare Centre.
My late dad Lawrence Frederick Cohen (aka Larry Fredericks) was a lifelong close friend of Lionel’s. They went to summer camp together and enjoyed a lot of good times. My dad was the public address announcer for McGill Redmen football games for years. Lionel served as his spotter. My brother Chuck and Lionel’s sons Lloyd and Brahm would always tag along.
Lionel and my dad were builders of the Côte Saint-Luc Slo Pitch Association. Lionel was a player, commissioner and then an umpire. However, his greatest moment would be serving as a speaker at the annual awards banquet in the fall. Here he channeled his inner Rodney Dangerfield and Don Rickles. Many players attended just to hear his routine where nobody in the audience was safe. He poked fun at the players and the guests. I remember one event when a number of executives from the Expos joined us. This was at a time when attendance was low. “I called the Expos office for tickets and asked what time the game was,” he stated. “They responded, ‘What time can you make it?’”
When I met with Lloyd last spring he told me that the COVID-19 lockdowns had a negative impact on Lionel. When he initially moved to the Waldorf to be with his partner, he’d go for walks and always take enjoyable promenades through the Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre. Then came the pandemic and everyone had to shelter in place. It put him in a very bad place.
Lionel, it has been more than 11 years since my dad left us. I am sure Larry is rolling out the red carpet for your reunion right now with a huge "Hello Hiawatha!" greeting.
My sympathies to Lloyd, Brahm, daughter Donna and the rest of the family,
Lionel was a special man…always enjoyed his company and friendship.
Away at this time .My sympathies to his family…Lionel will be missed
Shalom
Roy
ROBERT & MARILYN CRESTOHL
We are both very sorry to hear about Lionel’s passing. I didn’t have much to do with most of my wife’s many relatives….but Lionel was an instant friend. It was Lionel who told me about the Cote St. Luc Executive Softball League and I wound up playing in that league for 36 seasons before moving to the Cote St. Luc Softball league where I am still playing. Lionel knew everybody in town and he always got us tickets to the Montreal Expos games and we went quite often. He handled all our Notarial work. My favorite story about Lionel was back in 1964 when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton came to Montreal to be married….Lionel handled the legal and notarial work. My brother and I had a lot of great times with Lionel and will always remember him as a wonderful human being.
I’m sorry to hear that. I met him seven years ago when he was going to buy vodka, and we became friends. We often met in a parking lot with our other friend Martin, where we talked about soccer, especially Chelsea, as he was a fan of them. When his partner moved to a nursing home, he followed suit, and since then, we’ve missed him. Martin calls him every week, but due to COVID, we haven’t been able to meet him.We had great times with him an he always be remember and my sympathies to his family.
Amir
thanks for his nice note