JPPS-Bialik Loses a Patriarch: Nachum Wilchesky Passes Away

It is with an extremely heavy heart that the JPPS-Bialik family announces the passing of a true legend of an educator and person, Nachum Wilchesky, Director of Education Emeritus at JPPS. Mr. Wilchesky began his teaching career at Jewish People’s Schools in 1948 and subsequently devoted the next 61 years of his life to the pursuit of excellence in Jewish education.   

Arnold Cohen ’82, President of JPPS-Bialik, refers to him as a “giant” and as “a man who cared profoundly for his students and was a guiding force for JPPS-Bialik and the Jewish community at large.”

Mr. Wilchesky’s lifetime contribution to JPPS-Bialik is simply immeasurable. His enduring legacy will be that of meeting the needs of individual students. By building a strong network of resources, including introducing trained parent classroom aides, he enabled the school to tailor programs to encourage students to learn in a way that worked for them. Nachum was also responsible for building a cadre of educational leadership in all four languages—English, French, Hebrew and Yiddish—thus enriching JPPS-Bialik’s dedication to and leadership role in Jewish culture.

In addition to his devotion to JPPS-Bialik, Mr. Wilchesky hosted a weekly radio show on CFMB for many years, simultaneously serving as Director of Jewish Programming at the station. He was also Past President of the Association of Jewish Schools of Greater Montreal and a Past Chairman of the National Pedagogic Council. Moreover, he has served as National Vice-President of the Labour Zionist Movement in Canada (having himself been long associated with the Habonim Youth Movement) and as National Treasurer and National Secretary of the Canadian Jewish Congress. He was honoured with the Association of Jewish Day Schools’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

His family has kindly asked that contributions in his memory be made to the Nachum Wilchesky Memorial Scholarship Fund at JPPS-Bialik by calling 514-731-3841 ext. 225.