Paula Anna (Frei) Reisner

Paula Anna Reisner passed away peacefully in Vancouver, Canada, at the age of 90. Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on December 27, 1935, Paula lived a life defined by resilience, intelligence, adaptability, and unwavering determination.

Paula was born into a family where industry, machines, and adventure were part of everyday life. Her father, John Frei, was General Manager of Jawa Motorcycles, and automotive and racing culture surrounded her from childhood. But her early years were far from easy. The German invasion during WWII disrupted her education and reshaped the society around her. She spent time recovering from tuberculosis in the Bohemian mountains with a woman she lovingly called her grandmother. The subsequent Russian takeover of Czechoslovakia brought further upheaval, ultimately forcing her family to flee across the mountains at night in winter, uncertain of her father’s fate after his own escape.

What followed was time in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany with her mother, older brother, and younger sister. At just 13 years old, Paula lived with relatives in France and later attended boarding school in England, arriving without speaking English. By 1951, at age 15, she arrived in Canada — a new country and yet another beginning.

These formative years shaped Paula into what she would remain for life: adaptive, self-reliant, and determined to find a way forward no matter the circumstance. Fluent in Czech, German, English, and French, and conversant in other Slavic languages, she possessed both intellectual ability and extraordinary inner strength.

In Kingston, Ontario, a school principal’s interest in Paula’s education and understanding of her tenuous financial situation ensured that she could finish high school rather than leave to work. She graduated second with the Governor General's Academic Medal, second only to her future brother-in-law, Thomas Reisner. She was awarded a scholarship to study medicine at McGill University. That opportunity was taken away when a university doctor declared that her hypertension at age 17 meant she “would not make it to 21.” Seventy-three years later, Paula proved him profoundly wrong.

Paula instead graduated in English Literature from Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University), where, in the back row of a lecture hall, reading car magazines, she met Frank Reisner. Frank and Paula had a short courtship which would blossom into a lifelong partnership. Paula and Frank’s shared experiences, passion and love made them the strong team they became. They married in 1957.

A planned three-month European holiday in 1958 turned into a year of travel, camping across Europe in a Fiat 500 while visiting automotive manufacturers and racing circuits. At the end of their travels, Paula fell deeply in love with Rome — and with Italy itself. She did not want to leave. So, they stayed.

They settled in Turin, where in 1959 they founded Intermeccanica. The business was a true partnership. Frank was the visionary; Paula made things work. From mail-order performance equipment to racing engines and eventually full grand touring automobiles such as the IMP, Apollo, Italia, and Indra, Intermeccanica grew into an internationally recognized marque. During these years, Henry (1963), Evelyn (1967), and Edward (1972) were born.

The oil crisis and political instability of the 1970s brought another dramatic move. In 1975, Paula and Frank arrived in Los Angeles with three children, little money, and a business plan that had just collapsed. Once again, she adapted. The family rebuilt Intermeccanica in California by developing the first Porsche 356 replicas, before eventually relocating to Vancouver in 1982 to begin yet another chapter.

Wherever she lived, Paula made connections easily. In early Los Angeles, living in a working-class neighbourhood, she would recount walking into the local bank with a blond, Italian-chattering toddler in tow and striking up conversations that transcended language, culture, and race. She had a way of meeting people directly and warmly, and she made friends everywhere she went.

In Vancouver, Paula worked side by side with Frank until his death in 2001. Thereafter, she partnered with her eldest son, Henry, continuing Intermeccanica until it’s sale in 2022. There was never a “Plan B.” She simply found a way forward.

Beyond business, Paula was a visionary in another sense — she saw potential in homes the way others saw only problems. From rebuilding a near-abandoned manor house in Pino Torinese to transforming houses in California and British Columbia, she approached each project with creativity and determination. In her late seventies, she returned to the hills of Piemonte to create La Terrazza, a restored farmhouse that brought her deep peace and joy. It was perhaps the place where she felt most at home, and it remains part of her legacy.

Paula loved nature. Mushroom foraging — a skill learned as a child riding on the back of her father’s motorcycle in Bohemia — remained a lifelong passion. From Italy to California to British Columbia, she led her family on forest walks, carefully identifying boletus and other treasures. She was occasionally “encouraged” not to return to certain parks due to overenthusiastic harvesting — a fact she wore almost as a badge of honor. Henry’s kids grew up with the rule of never picking a mushroom without checking with Grandma Paula first!

She loved food and cooking - gifts inherited from her father. Sunday family dinners were a constant, no matter how busy the business. Her love of food lives on strongly in her daughter Evelyn, who now runs a successful catering business.

Paula was an avid reader and lifelong collector of books. History, politics, literature, and mystery novels — particularly those set in the postwar world she knew — filled her shelves. She was the most knowledgeable person many of us knew, able to place current events within long historical arcs. As her eyesight declined, she embraced audiobooks with enthusiasm. Listening became both comfort and escape, and conversations about books remained one of her great pleasures.

She was a passionate motorsport fan throughout her life, happiest when Ferrari stood on the Formula 1 podium. She enjoyed Old Bushmills Scotch (“not the expensive one”), ice-cold Stolichnaya vodka, Italian wool undershirts for good health, and a steady supply of Fisherman’s Friend lozenges. She possessed sharp wit, could be impatient with foolishness, and did not shy away from strong opinions — but she was also warm, engaging, and deeply loyal.

Paula lived across eras — from pre–World War II Europe to the digital age — and across countries, languages, and cultures. Through war, displacement, reinvention, business triumphs and setbacks, she adapted each time, drawing on experience and intelligence to make the best of what was in front of her. She was, above all, a survivor and a builder of lives.

Paula is survived by her sister Helena, sons Henry and Edward, daughter Evelyn, grandchildren Ivy, June, Benjamin and Lucia, daughters-in-law Holly and Challa and many loving nieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by her husband Frank, brother John and sister-in-law Ellen.

As per her wishes, the Reisner family will host a celebration of Paula’s life on May 23, 2026. Please contact Henry Reisner at [email protected] for details.