Eva Ines Saphir

With the assistance of the MAID program, Eva died peacefully at her home on November 20th, 2021, surrounded by her family and her loved ones.

Eva was born in Bovril, Entre Rios, Argentina, on December 9, 1943, to Lissi Grunewald and Bernhard Saphir who escaped Nazi Germany in 1936. She was sister to Matilde Saphir of California, loving mother to Henry, mother of the heart to Christine Arbic and Kristine Andersen, and honorary grandmother to Emily Arbic. She was “Canadian mom” to Theresa (Kai) Huang of British Columbia and Darren Smith of New Brunswick.

After graduating university, Eva started her career as a lab technician, later becoming a high school science teacher, mother, psychotherapist, consultant, and clinical supervisor in the fields of addictions, trauma, LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS, art therapist and author (her book is called “Nature Doesn’t Make Junk and The Persistence of Memory”).

Eva was a founder of Hospice Wellington, the art therapy program at Toronto Western Hospital and the counselling program at Casey House. She was a member of the founding board of directors of Aluna Theatre and was a founding member of the Bridge Program for internationally trained mental health workers. She started the first science fair in northern Ontario at the Iroquois Falls and Cochrane Board of Education and was a consultant in the founding of the Tragic Events Resource Team for the Halton Board of Education, which trained teachers to provide support for staff and students following traumatic events in schools…the first of its kind in Ontario.

Eva was a proud supporter of the National Ballet of Canada, Taffelmusic, the Tarragon Theatre and other arts organizations.

Eva prided herself on not being convenient and marched to the beat of her own drum. She had a generous heart and a generous home. Through her work and her daily living she impacted the lives of all who had the privilege of meeting her. The hundreds of phone calls, visits, flowers, gifts, and Facebook posts received by her over the past few months are a testament to a life well lived.

Cremation has taken place.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2pm on December 4th 2021 at Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home, 467 Sherbourne St. Toronto. Visiting will take place one hour prior to the service. Those planning to attend must wear masks and provide proof of vaccination. Alternatively, the funeral will be webcast at rosar-morrison.com. In lieu of flowers, a donation to your favorite arts organization is appreciated.