Margers (Mark) Groskaufmanis, 83, passed away peacefully on September 17, 2017 at his home.


Margers was born on August 19, 1934 in Kuldiga, Latvia to Edvins and Anna Groskaufmanis. His childhood was cruelly interrupted by World War II, which resulted in the Groskaufmanis family fleeing to a refugee camp in Stuttgart, Germany to escape the Soviet re-invasion of Latvia in 1944. The grateful Groskaufmanis family was eventually accepted as Displaced Persons (DP) by Canada, and settled in Toronto. On December 31, 1958, Margers married Vija Bredovskis. He worked devotedly for his family, spending more the 33 years in the printing operations of Maclean-Hunter (now Rogers Communications).


Margers is survived by his wife of 58 years, Vija Groskaufmanis, of Toronto, Ontario; his daughters, Daina (Groskaufmanis) Selvig and her husband, Alex Selvig of Boston, Massachusetts, and Kristine Groskaufmanis and her husband, Andrew Delroy, of Toronto; his grandchildren, Massimo Margers (Max) Selvig and Alessandra Laura Selvig; his sister, Daina (Groskaufmanis) Janitis and her husband, Henry Janitis of London, Ontario; several nieces and nephews, and many dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Ojars Groskaufmanis, his sister, Baiba (Groskaufmanis) Ciruls, his brother-in-law, George Ciruls, and his niece, Laura Ciruls.

Margers’ life will be honoured at a memorial service on Saturday, September 30th at 1:00 pm at York Cemetery & Funeral Centre, 160 Beecroft, Toronto, ON. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes are welcome and may be directed to the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/latvian-canadian-cultural-centre/), the Latvian Relief Society of Canada (Daugavas Vanagi) (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-latvian-relief-society-of-canada-daugavas-vanagi/) or a charity of your choice.