Toronto native among the dead

TORONTO — A Toronto woman was one of 11 people killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, a rabbi from one of Toronto’s oldest Jewish congregations said Sunday.

A statement by Rabbi Yael Splansky said Joyce Fienberg, 75, grew up in the Holy Blossom Temple community, which is located in north Toronto.

Splansky said Fienberg was married at the temple, and her confirmation photo is on its wall of honour. “I did not know her. She was married here before my time. But I walk past her every day,” said Splansky.

Deanna Levy, a spokesperson for the temple, said the photo is of Fienberg when she was 16 years old.

“She has family members in our congregation and in Toronto. May her memory be for a blessing,” said Levy, adding that the temple had services Sunday morning.

“Right now we are just offering comfort to families ... We are just trying to stay strong.”

Fienberg spent most of her career as a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center, studying learning in the classroom and in museums.

There was a long-standing joke at Gaea Leinhardt’s University of Pittsburgh research centre: If she needed to remember something — even “small bits of information that I might need someday” — she could simply mention it to Feinberg, her research assistant. Without fail, Fienberg would be able to recall it, even years later.

“She was just a magnificently caring, generous and thoughtful human being,” Leinhardt said. “She never forgot anyone’s birthday. She was always available for whatever one might need.”

When news of the shooting broke Saturday, Leinhardt was in the U.K. She immediately tried contacting Fienberg.

When her best friend didn’t respond after several hours, she began fearing the worst.