Harold Solomon was born in Montreal January 9, 1947 the middle child and only son,
between two older sisters, Rosalyn and Marilyn and two younger Frances and Gwen to
Fanny and Louie Solomon. His was a deeply troubled childhood and youth, only salvaged
by the love and guidance of his maternal grandparents whom he adored.

His father was a war veteran and suffered PTSD making life for the family fraught with
issues and Harold’s life filled with anxieties and fear. As the only boy he was cherished
beyond measure by his mother, who coped with her own emotional troubles.
As he grew up he became his mother's rock, the one person she relied upon above all
others. A fact he felt often constraining, but never for one moment did he shirk his filial
duty, he shouldered every responsibility, with stoicism.

In 1997 he came to Toronto to care for his ailing parents putting aside working any other
personal desires or considerations. He became their lifeline, their support making their
last years as comfortable as he could, facing every challenge that was thrown upon him,
until finally his own health began to falter in 2003. He always said wanted to write a book
about his early life as it was so challenging. He was convinced it would be a best seller!!
He said his sense of humour, his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities and
ironies of life kept him sane, proposing to the nurses at St. Michaels Hospital where he
spent some many months over the years! Laughing at the mistakes that sometimes
happened when a nurse was about to take him for some procedure he wasn’t scheduled
to have!
He bore countless invasive heart procedures and tests stoically, always wanting to buy
more time.
That sense of the ridiculous, of being the clown, hid a sharp insightful mind. He was
nobody’s fool. He so regretted not having the opportunity for higher education having to
go to work at a young age to help support his parents and sisters.
He loved sports, politics, the stock market, country music and when well, walking miles
and miles and shopping, and scoring his favourite Harold deal “that steal of a bargain”.
He just loved going downtown to “check the dust” as he said at the Eaton centre!

He enjoyed life’s simple pleasures. Little trips to Montreal and around Ontario and finally
at the age of 61 thrilled at taking his first plane trip, to London and Paris.
He was proud but humble and a fighter to the end, resigned, never complaining about the
raw deals life dealt him.
He lived by the maxim, that whatever makes you happy makes me happy. He simply
wanted those he loved to be happy. 

Relation: father in law of Graham and Liz, partner of Rachelle Green