The Family Riklis

This book was born as a result of a conversation held after a Shabbat dinner while sitting and discussing family events. Anyone who knows me knows that nothing takes preference to family. And so while we were talking, the subject of my youth came up, including the antics that got me in trouble on more than one occasion. Russel was so enthralled by some of the stories that he suggested I write them down. That night in bed I thought about what a good idea that was, and also decided to include what I knew about my grandparents, before all that history disappeared into the lost past. And so for my family, children, grandchildren, sister, nieces and nephews, here is a bit of history that may endure and that I hope you will cherish and remember long after we have all left. This was a task of love, I learnt a lot from digging and researching our ancestry, and heaven only knows there is still so much out there. Enjoy! Last but not least, I want to thank Elise for giving up her valuable time to edit and correct the original copies of this book.

Abe Louis Riklis was Born in Johannesburg, South Africa. On the 17th January 1940, to parents who were born in Lithuania and fled to South Africa to escape the pogroms and Russian persecution. I grew up in middle class Johannesburg, but was fortunately privileged to be accepted to enter my scholastic life at the prestigious King Edward VII School. My years at school played a major role on moulding my character and personality, for which I will be eternally grateful. As previously mentioned this book was a labour of love taken from stories told to me by my parents and relatives and also from hours and hours of research.