Lieber, Jack (1918 - 2015)

Jack Lieber fled Russia with his parents, coming to Canada at the age of six. His mother was the concert pianist Olga Lieber. Enlisting in the RCAF, he flew many missions into Europe and survived the crash of a Lancaster bomber in which he was navigator. After the war, he earned his B.A., Dip Ed. and M.A. at McGill, and worked as a teacher in Montreal, where he met his wife Iris. The highlight of his teaching career was said to be his six years with CIDA (1965-1970) lecturing at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In August 1970 they went to Papua New Guinea. Jack was researching village communities in and around Goroka, where he was lecturing under the auspices of UNESCO at the Goroka Teachers College. They returned to Montreal in 1972. In 1984 when Jack retired from teaching, they moved to Toronto. He wrote two books, "Clash of Symbols" and "Episodes in the Life of Professor Lazebnik-Lieber".