EUGENE ELKIN

Eugene Elkin

September 2, 1927 to August 14, 2025

Pour a wee dram of scotch and raise your glass to a life well lived!

“Eudie” to his family, “Gene” to his friends, he was the son of Jennie (Levine) and Samuel Elkin,  a loving husband to his late wife, Sylvia (“Tootsie”); mischievous brother to David and Effie;  devoted father and father-in-law to  Sam and his wife, Nancy,  to Clare and her late husband, Steven, and to Mark. He was a twinkly-eyed, playful Zayde to Jonathan, Benjamin, Laz and Mira and Zuper Zayde to Abraham and Rena; a caring nephew, beloved uncle and true friend. 

To his friends and to his family, Gene was a rock. He was thoughtful, reliable, loyal and generous. He showed up whenever or wherever he was needed, to help an ailing relative, to schlep boxes, and even to vaccinate chickens at Tootsie’s sister and brother-in-law’s egg ranch.  With Tootsie he proudly showed up for his grandkids’ games, plays, concerts, birthday parties, b’nai mitzvot, and graduations. He would not have wanted to be anywhere else.

Gene was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, grew up in Montreal, Quebec and made his way to California in 1954. At 8 years old, Eudie and Tootsie were classmates at the Liberty Temple in Winnipeg. She would later recall him as “the boy who wore knickers.”  Fate brought them together on a blind date in Montreal, sixteen years later. Behind the wheel of the Rambler, and later the Ford station wagon, he spirited Tootsie, and the kids on trailer treks to Mammoth, and across North America, and spearheaded worldwide adventures Tootsie never could have imagined. And Tootsie nurtured and focused his restless spirit into his studies and family life, with the not-so-occasional kick under the table and raised brow to remind him of his social graces. Their love affair lasted sixty years.

Gene was a proud graduate of McGill University, Faculté de pharmacie de l'Université de Montréal and USC Pharmacy School. He was a dedicated and caring community pharmacist at Kustner’s Pharmacy for almost 50 years. He not only filled prescriptions, but took the time to build relationships with patients, pharmacy staff and the medical community. Professionally he was well respected, serving in a leadership role in the California Pharmacists Association, for many years, including as President in 1974. He worked as a pharmacist into his 80’s.

He was famous for his barbecued turkey, his kickass guacamole, his prideful tolerance for spicy food and his treyf trailer (outside of Tootsie’s kosher kitchen) where bacon and bouillabaisse could be savored.  He was a lover of all things Scottish. As a passionate bagpiper, he was a devoted member of the McPherson Highlanders band, and a proud member of the Marine Memorial Honor Guard at Riverside National Cemetery. He played the pipes in parades, in his kids’ and grandkids’ classrooms, around the bar at the American Legion Hall and at pharmacy conventions. He could be counted on to give the Immortal Memory Address at annual Robert Burns suppers.  He was an active member of the Temple Beth El community where he and Tootsie formed lifelong friendships. He also served as past President of the local chapter of B’nai Brith.

Gene was an exuberant storyteller, who, in his seventies, pulled together the strands of his life into three novels (all available on Amazon!). He had other special talents. He energetically danced the twist, could swear in ten different languages, and caught many a fish, thissssssssssssssssssssss big.

After her death in 2011, he profoundly missed his Tootsie. He would joke that he knew he needed a haircut when he would pass by the cemetery and hear her voice reminding him. Keeping his deeper feelings to himself, he continued to embrace life. He joined a writer’s group. He and his buddy, Joe, took turns hosting dinners for one another. He went out to eat and attended performances with dear friends. He took a trip to Vancouver to talk to his sister, Effie’s book club, about one of his novels. He shared a regular scotch over the phone with his brother, Dave. He went on cruises with family and friends.

With Tootsie there in spirit, he danced at his grandsons’ weddings, celebrated his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah,  attended his grandchild’s college graduation, lovingly held two great-grandchildren in his lap and grieved the loss of his siblings. Over the last years, as his mind began to drift, and his hold on this world began to loosen, he would ask after his Tootsie. How’s mom? Have you talked to her recently? Sometimes he would think that she was waiting in his room for him. Their wait is now over. 

We will miss you dearest Eudie, Gene, Dad, Zayde. You lived your life with humor, with zest, with love. We will remember you when we hike a trail in Mammoth, hear the wail of bagpipes, nurture an idea and of course, drink a scotch. Here’s one for you, for the road:

Just a wee deoch an’ doris, just a wee drop, that’s all.

A wee deoch an’ doris afore ye gang awa’.

There’s a wee wifie waitin’ in a wee but an ben.

If ye can say, “It’s a braw, bricht moonlicht nicht,”

Then yer a’richt, ye ken.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday August 21, 2025 at noon at Temple Beth El in Riverside, with a graveside service at 1:30 PM at Olivewood Cemetery.

Donations in Gene’s memory can be made to: Mazon or the Wounded Warrior Project.

Arrangements entrust4ed to the care of Akes Family Funeral Home, Riverside, California

©copyright 2025 Akes Family Funeral Homes

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