Rush’s Geddy Lee Bids Farewell To His Mother

Rush bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee has been going through a hard time as on July 2, he lost his biggest supporter, his mother Mary Weinrib who was soon going to celebrate her 96th birthday.

As you may recall, some weeks ago, Geddy Lee and his mother had made it to our headlines after being guests on Dave Grohl‘s ‘From Cradle To Stage’ television show. Geddy had opened up about how it felt being raised by parents who survived the Holocaust.

Mary Weinrib was born in 1925 in Warsaw, Poland, and grew up in Wierbnik which was a Jewish shtetl that was part of Starachowice but was occupied by the Germans in 1939. She was taken into the labor camp at the munition’s factory in Starachowice and the concentration camps at Auschwitz, and there she met the love of her life, Morris Weinrib.

After Mary was liberated in 1945, the couple found each other and got married in 1946, and shortly after that, they migrated to Canada. They had a lovely family, and although she lost her partner suddenly in 1965, Mary managed to continue the family business and inspire everyone around her.

Furthermore, she was also one of the earliest supporters of Rush. When the band’s first album was released, she hung up their posters all over her shop and she also used to give out free posters and albums to all kids who couldn’t afford to buy them.

Here’s a part of her obituary:

“Mary Weinrib, whose life was an inspiring story of perseverance, survival, and triumph, died on Friday night, July 2, 2021, a few weeks short of her 96th birthday. Manya (Malka) Rubinstein was born in 1925 in Warsaw and grew up in Wierzbnik, a Jewish shtetl that was part of Starachowice, Poland, which was occupied by the Germans beginning in 1939.

Mary endured the labor camp at the munition’s factory in Starachowice and the concentration camps at Auschwitz, where she met and fell in love with her husband Morris Weinrib, and at Bergen-Belsen, where she was finally liberated in April 1945. Reunited and married in 1946, Mary and Morris emigrated to Canada.

After her husband Morris’s sudden death in 1965, Mary was left with three young children and a variety store that her husband had owned and managed. Mary was determined to learn the business; and, against the advice of well-meaning friends, she took over managing their store in Newmarket, and she successfully ran the business until she retired.

People were drawn to her zest for life, her sense of humor, and her compassion and generous spirit. The mother of Rush bass player and lead singer Geddy Lee, Mary was an early supporter and a fixture at Rush concerts. When the first Rush album was released, Mary plastered the windows of her store with Rush posters and gave albums away to any kids who wanted them but didn’t have the money to buy them.”

It sure must have been hard for Geddy Lee to lose such an inspirational figure that helped him during his life. We send our condolences to the Weinrib family and all her loved ones. Donations in Mary Weinrib’s honor may be made to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.