In Memoriam: Imre Weil

Imre Weil. (June 10, 1928 – August 22, 2020)

Imre Weil, age 92, passed away peacefully at his lakeside home in Canyon Lake where he was a member of the Canyon Lake Ski Club for over 50 years, the longest tenure of any member.

Imre was born June 10, 1928 to Bela and Olga Weil in Budapest, Hungary. His father had been taken prisoner in World War I and spent five years in Siberia. Upon Bela’s return, he married his wife, Olga, a piano and music teacher.

When Imre, age 16, and his father, age 57, were arrested by Nazis in 1944, Olga was smuggled into a convent and was kept safe as a nun until the end of the war. Meanwhile, Imre and his father were forced to march to the Hungarian border where they were transported by cattle car to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Somehow, father and son were not separated.

Being able bodied men, both were then sent to the Colditz, which was an industrial factory camp mainly for prisoners of war. During this time, they had to perform manual labor in the various facilities, such as the production of bazooka guns for the tanks. Imre managed to get a job in the kitchen, peeling potatoes, but after three weeks of warnings and punishments, he was kicked out of the kitchen because he had been stealing the potato peelings for the barracks, instead of giving them to the pigs for SS officer meals.

They were soon transferred back to Buchenwald, but this time it was to be exterminated. They were given just a blanket, but no clothes or beds. Due to an injury which occured in Colditz, Imre was first sent to the camp hospital where he stayed hidden, along with his father. They survived for 10 days on wood, roots and bugs until the American Forces liberation.

At first, Imre would not let his father eat the American rations because over 5,000 concentration camp prisoners had succumbed to dysentery because their systems couldn’t handle the food. Imre stole dog biscuits from the SS kennels for his father and him to eat, instead.

Imre decided to join a transport of Jewish children led by the Red Cross to a little town in Normandy where he attended school and until his 18th birthday. He was then on his own and kept his promise to his father that he would return to Hungary by the end of the year. He found his mother and father and settled back in their own home there.

Living in Hungary with his parents was not the life Imre wanted for himself and he made his way to France, first to Paris and then to Cannes on the French Riviera. He established the water ski school at the Carlton Hotel there and became a very happy “ski bum.” In the winter, he would snow ski at Tignes and worked as a tourist photographer.

He met many influential people during this time, including Brig U.S. General O.F. Lassiter. The General had a charter jet company with a fleet of Lear Jets and had previously been a test pilot for Lear Jets. Imre was sponsored to go to Miami for flight school for his commercial pilot’s license. This was cut short by the death of his patron and he was never able to complete this training. He felt that at his age, he was also at a disadvantage to Vietnam War veterans who already had many flight hours.

In France, he was married for a brief time and had a daughter, Anna, who became a ballerina with the Paris Ballet Troupe. Imre moved to Los Angeles, earning a living at first as a real estate agent, something he did not feel passionate about. He sought out new water-skiing areas and found Canyon Lake, at the time a little community of 50 homes. He skied every chance he could and slept on the shores of the lake on a camp lounge chair until he bought a little camper.

It was during this time he met the love of his life, Betsy, on a blind date. Both had been hesitant to meet, but as soon as they did, he said time had stood still for him. They married and became top real estate agents in Canyon Lake, with Betsy heading the company. Imre went to physical therapy school, something he had a great interest in from his time in France. Eventually he had his own Canyon Lake practice and gained a wonderful reputation for his healing powers.

Imre is the current 13 states Western Region record holder of a slalom score of 2.5 buoys at 28 mph at a rope length of 22. Last year, he was given a lifetime achievement award from the Canyon Lake Ski Club for his years of service and friendship.

Imre is preceded in death by his cherished daughter Anna and his devoted wife Betsy and is mourned by his many nieces and nephews, godchildren, patients and very good friends in his community.

There is to be a memorial for Imre at the Canyon Lake Clubhouse and dockside once the risk of COVID-19 has passed. For now, we all have our wonderful memories of this truly extraordinary man who loved life.