Victor and Toinette | The Cardinal Chronicles

Interview with Toinette (b. 1930) and Victor (b. 1929) Menashe

By Anderson Kitzis on February 21, 2026

First, where did you grow up?  VM: In Portland. How long were you here for? Have you lived here your whole life? VM: In Portland?...Yeah. Except for a few jaunts that were sabbatical leaves from the university. All in Portland…. Going to school in Eugene. Oh, did you go to University of  Oregon?.. Three years down there. Then to medical school here.

What was your career like?...did you have a job that you continued for a while? VM: Well. I went to medical school, decided I wanted to be a pediatrician. …That was in the 50s. And at that time, a lot of things were being done for congenital heart disease.  And so I went into that area of heart disease and children, mostly congenital malformations of the heart. And that’s what I did until I retired in 2015.

Wow. So you did that for a while, right?  That job? VM: Over 50 years. Wow.  And did you love it? Did you enjoy it?

VM:  Yeah… If you don't like it you better get into something else… So…that's my whole experience… 2 years in the service after my pediatric experience as a resident and then pediatric cardiology.

What was that experience like? … In the service… Did you ever go out?...VM: We were there for 2 years. Had the family. It was at Edwards Air Force Base. It was interesting being at Edwards. I learned a lot about…how they tested planes. And met some of the... ace pilots. Iven Kincheloe., and Deke… TM : Pete Kincheloe. VM: Iven Kincheloe. Deke Slayton… One of the first astronauts. Really? Wow. And you knew him?  VM: Yeah…They brought their kids... And it was... a good experience, and… I also learned that I didn't want to do just general pediatrics….That was in ‘56 to ‘58.

So do you think that guided you towards your career of the heart? VM: Yeah, it made me... with what was going on in the treatment and management of congenital heart disease in the 50s, because prior to ‘54, open heart surgery was not available... Interesting.  And..people don't know how really recent it was. You think it, well, they've been doing it all the time….. That's that's not true…  It's something that is, in the scheme of things, relatively recent. Great strides have been made in the management of congenital heart disease…Prior to open heart surgery many of the conditions were limiting lifespans of these children, and some of them were fatal in infancy...And… this has changed dramatically…I followed the lifespan of some of them… where I know that they're in their 70s... something that would have been unheard.  Yeah, people that you worked with? Yeah….That's interesting.

..So since you've lived in Portland your whole life,  what have you noticed changing the most? …or has there just been so many? VM: Well..Portland… in the 30s….was…only a city of 250 to 300,000.. And now it's 10 times that…. So it's…many dramatic changes….  In the 30s. If you heard an airplane up in the air, everybody would be looking up. Now, nobody pays attention.  … to a sonic boom….TM:  Oh, I was gonna say… our whole transportation system…. We had the street cars, you know, when we were kids… And they were limited in their use…they weren't certainly like they are today with Trimet, which has made it possible for people to move all over the place…VM:... Big changes.The city got much larger, more complex. Meier and Frank is no longer there. What is that?  VM: Meier and Frank was THE department store…14 floors.

TM: I believe it was 14 floors….They had everything...And where Nordstrom's is today…now it's Pioneer Place, and but it was a Portland hotel in those years, and that's where all the luminaries came to stay when they came through Portland… It was a city block.

 Did you grow up in Portland also? Yes. And you've been here with him the whole time?  How did you guys first meet? TM: We met at Sunday school at Ahavai Shalom.  VM: Ahavai Shalom synagogue which is now Neveh Shalom…  That's so interesting. VM: Ahavai Shalom synagogue and the Neveh Zedek synagogue merged to become.. Neveh Shalom.

How old were you guys…when you first met?  VM: Well, we knew each other from... Kindergarten/ 1st grade… We... looked at each other differently when  I had finished my 1st year at the university and Toinette had just graduated Grant… She was gonna go to Reed….  But then I talked her into coming to Oregon…That was the beginning…  That's awesome. VM: We're here now. 79 years later. Wow.  That's crazy. VM: So that's..that's our story….  So what do you think made you want to marry her for 79 years and stay with her for your whole life? What's so special? What did you find? VM: We like doing much the same things.  We had fun. What else? TM:  It was a take… we are both liberal in our politics….VM:  Common interest. and future desires. Yeah, we're similar. TM: We were working as counselors in a day camp at the neighborhood house here in Portland, and we got to know each other better then..there's a coincidence we found ourselves in that… situation and we had a lot of the same mutual friends that made it very comfortable being together. VM: In June, we will have been married 74 years…. Five extra years were prior to marriage.

 What was your wedding like? How was that? TM: It was big, very big. 360 people… for a sit-down dinner at what was then the Multnomah Hotel. VM: It was at then Ahavai Shalom synagogue where we were married and reception at the Multnomah Hotel, which is now... TM: Embassy suites… We then took off for a three month honeymoon in Europe… And well, we knew we would only... VM: That almost ended our marriage. TM: He got severe food poisoning on that trip. Oh no. VM: In Rome. TM: It was the end of the trip and he was hot.  VM: She advised me not to eat some ice cream that I…(TM: I begged him) insisted I needed. Where else did you guys go on your honeymoon?  VM: We were in London, Paris, Brussels and Rome. We were supposed to go to Venice, but that was cut short…and we spent a week recovering in Switzerland.   TM: In Switzerland. So sick…it was too long a trip… but it was fun.  What year.. was that, the honeymoon? VM: That was ‘52. ..We had some nice times..when we had sabbatical leaves..from the university, where I was teaching, and..the year in Copenhagen. And two shorter sabbaticals in London…which was a great experience.

Did you say you were teaching? …What did you teach? Pediatric cardiology... After I graduated and went through all the training. TM: And you chaired the Department of Pediatric Cardiology. VM: For a short time. TM: Well, you did it.  It wasn't so short. VM: I was  Chief of the Child Rehabilitation Center for... a number of years. TM:  CDRC. Child Development and Rehabilitation Center.

And did you have any careers or jobs like his? TM:Yeah, I did. VM: Yeah. She was at Reed College after she got her master's there and was director of the... master's program…What did that consist of? What was her… job? TM: Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. That was for people who wanted to go beyond the undergraduate degree to pursue a more broadened in-depth liberal arts program. Then they branched off and… went wherever. And Reed had a lot of connections with the Portland public schools. We had programs for high school students.  I don't know, in fact, if you were aware of it, but… we've always had kids come from Lincoln for the Young Scholars program.  I've kind of heard of that actually. It's a wonderful program.  Tuition free. You just gotta get there.  How long have you done that for? Or how long did you...? TM: I was at Reed working for 23 years. ….And I got my master's degree there in 1971? VM: What year did you start? TM:  MALS [Master of Arts in Liberal Studies].... or in career counseling. I directed the office of job placement and career counseling for three years, then moved over to the other. VM: It was after you came back from…TM: From sabbatical.  So that was 1967. VM: From Denmark, wasn’t it? TM: I lived in Denmark for a year, which is an extraordinary experience...  VM: So you had about 30 years there [Reed]? TM: Yeah…Together.

 Did you guys have any really memorable moments together that you want.. to share?...Just short little things...

TM:  … I think the birth of our older son and younger son…equally wonderful….I think our.. family years together were wonderful. Have been wonderful.  Wonderful children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren….  VM: Lots of them. Family memories. …You guys had two kids? Two sons? VM:  Yeah. And do they still live in Portland? They  came back to Portland, yeah…. Jeff was gone for ten years. They both became physicians also.  Dave was gone for six… They're both physicians as well… Jeff ran off after finishing school here, to North Carolina, France and then Seattle, and then back here.  And Dave went from here, after he graduated, to Milwaukee, then New York, and then back here. Did they plan to come back together? TM:  No. I think it was a goal, actually. VM:  I don't think they had any plans. Other than... What am I gonna do next?   Do you guys see them often still? TM: Yes…I'm sure you waited on them. I think maybe. TM:  They are now grandparents, both boys. VM: Best family times were when we took the four grandkids to the beach. TM: Just grandkids… none of their parents….VM: They were still... some of them were in diapers. TM: Each summer. VM: until they were about eight…TM:  Then we started a yearly retreat for the whole family. Ten of us, we went to Spain… Another one we went to Italy.  VM: And that was without their parents. And they would... work together to... get their plays so that when their parents came on the weekend, they could present their play…Which was always fun.

What would you say is…. best place you've been to, because you've traveled so much? VM:  You'll have to answer that different, but me as a family…. With everybody there…I look at our three trips to Europe with everybody. Just me, alone, without the family some of my fishing trips…And... Most memorable was a float down the Smith River.  Oh, yeah, and also on the Flathead in Montana.  Okay. And what do you think?...TM:  I was thinking it was pretty memorable when we went to Denmark in 1966, Vic met his grandmother for the first time.  Because when we were in Europe prior to that time she had gotten out of Europe before the war broke out and gotten into Africa where other members of the family had fled and gotten into the Congo.  So, but she was back in Brussels, Belgium by the time we got to Denmark. But anyway it was…quite memorable to meet your grandmother for the first time at age 36…. And for our children, you know, to meet a great grandmother. VM: You told him about the sweaters? TM:  And she did sweaters for our boys. VM: She sized up the two boys and the next time we were in Brussels, she had knit them sweaters that fit.  But…there was one thing wrong with them. The boys didn't like... TM: they wouldn't wear them. VM: They were really beautiful sweaters, but they had puffed sleeves. TM: It was very European…VM: That wasn't quite... the trend here. TM: I should mention something that was, for you, a kind of a highlight. Vic was president of Cedar Sinai…that was the year that we brought Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner as our entertainment.  We packed the…temple. It was a big fundraiser for the home and Vic chaired the board at that time and it was a busy time, but it was very exciting. And a big crowd.  

Is there any other place you guys still want to visit? Or is that a pass? VM:  We have not traveled since COVID. Once that came, it was hard to travel.  And then subsequently, it's just a hassle getting through airports. It's just easier…We've been to a lot of places… We're here now. How long have you guys been here? Just about 15 months, 16 months.  We came in October of …'24. TM:  We had been here a lot as volunteers… I'd served on the board and I gave a class on Wednesdays here. We were very familiar.  We knew, but when we moved, this would be the place we moved. And do you guys like it here? Yeah.  It’s comfortable. It’s easier than being at home.   Although we miss a lot of things at home  which is no longer our home. Did you guys live in a house just the two of you for a while?  Yeah, just... a little more than a mile away from here… Raleigh Hills, right near OES… Off Jamison Road.

TM: I wonder if you might know. He goes to OES, he's graduating also… Max Holzman.  Yeah, I do know him…TM: You all probably know each other by now… The only one left in school here… he’s the only one ….that hasn't gone off to college and graduated.  He was the youngest of all the grandchildren in our family… great nephew, our sister’s grandchild. VM: We have …four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The great grandchildren are just….what? David is 16 months, 17 months. TM: Four of them under one year of age. VM: One is not a year old yet. So they're all new. Wonderments to watch them grow and develop and do all the things that...  Walking and now beginning to talk a little bit…. Which is… just things that are fantastic to watch….. I know so many of your family members live here…have you guys ever had a time where you're all together at once?  VM: Yes, we do that. Actually, we're not all together anymore. Because our grandkids - one's in Seattle, one's in Bend, one's in San Francisco, and one's in Miami.  Ah. And we were together last… 4th of July? for a week at Black Butte and we're planning that again….We'll see everybody a little bit differently.  

TM: Because growing up years it was pretty much sacrosanct that we were together for a Friday night dinner at our house with everybody.  So that was something that we did as long as the kids lived in Portland, but that changed when we moved. They were pretty much doing it up until the time we moved….VM: it was a nice respite from here, for the week. Were those Friday night dinners fun?  Did you enjoy them? VM: Oh yeah. TM:  Very noisy, very nice….VM: Toinette made  good matzo balls. They were floaters.  Do you guys celebrate the Jewish holidays with them sometimes? TM: Oh yes, always.  Up till actually our move here, we've always been pretty much involved with the synagogue, but it's just hard now, we find it difficult,... I miss it actually, but it's….

 Is there anything [else] you guys want to share?...What do you remember about Lincoln, that was so memorable…anything? VM: Long time ago…I don't know if I have many classmates still around.  But Lincoln was... a relatively small school at that time. There are only about 1,200 students…  What can I say? It’s pretty well kind…it was an interesting mix of people there because we had kids from the heights, kids from South Portland and then another group from Northwest Portland. And it was a real mix of different traditions coming together.  ...More so, I think it was more diverse than most of the other schools... TM: Grant was pretty homogeneous. Victor played basketball for Lincoln. VM:  But different economic levels at Lincoln at that time.  Did you play basketball for all four years? VM: Yeah, I played basketball - not very well. TM: I’ve seen you play, you were very good. VM: Lincoln's gym had a very low ceiling…at that time. And.. they were..we had...   a few very good players that came out of Lincoln, but I was not one of them. Al Popick  played at the University of Oregon. Dick Wilkins made more of his name playing football, but he was....a good basketball player.  And that was before... any professional ball outfits were here.  And that's where... Glickman went to school but he was four years ahead of me.   Did you ever watch him play? At Lincoln?  Yeah, I watched, I, more I watched them play when they were still playing at the Jewish Community Center… which was on 13th at that time. Were there a lot of people that went to the University of Oregon after graduating Lincoln? Because I know… right now, a lot of kids that go to Lincoln end up at the University of Oregon. Was it the same?   ..Yeah.  TM:That is the same ratio pretty much. I think Max wants to go to Oregon.  Maybe I do also, we'll see…  

VM: What are your interests? My interests… I love playing tennis. I'm on the tennis team at Lincoln.  So I really like that…. I love just hanging out with my friends watching movies with them, playing anything, some sports.  VM: What kind of movies? …I would say, generally… we've we've recently been into watching …good classic movies that my dad tells me about because I love all those….just whenever he gives me a suggestion, I try to watch that.  VM: If you like old movies, you should turn your TV to Turner classic movies. Yeah. That's true.  Did you watch that much? No, I don't. VM:  Right now they're going through Academy Award. Academy Award nominations and films. Various things.  TM: Not the nominations, the ones that won them. But there was a very interesting piece in the New York Times, a couple days ago, where they took six movies that were remade, remade in the Wuthering Heights, the Emily Bronte, and it was the different actors and how the reinterpretation has been done. That's a lot of films, you know, about one subject.  But it could be an interesting class in Wuthering Heights. Have you read the book? No.. or do you know of it? Yeah, I've heard of it…You know that there are 6 movie versions of it. I did not know that. VM: If you want to know about movies... She's the one?  VM: Yes. TM: I love movies. What's your favorite movie?...TM: Right off the top of my head the English Patient with Ralph Fiennes, [Kristen] Scott Thomas. Wonderful movie, wonderful book.  When was that from? TM: Ten years ago, maybe…  We like Ralph Fiennes as an actor, you probably know his work. … That would be off the top of my head.  

VM: Well, what do you want to do? After college? I still am not exactly sure. VM: That's a good way to be.  I guess so…I think I would really want to be a doctor.  So… I'm definitely gonna take some classes in college with that and see if it really interests me…both of my parents are doctors so I've heard a lot about that and it's, it seems really interesting….Also I like math or business…. But.. my dad has been telling me that it’s going to be hard to find a job…because of all the new AI… going to… take over. But I don't know…VM: Where AI is gonna take us is still up in the air other than it's gonna change a lot of everything we do….How many people  are going to be out of a job because of AI?.. That can relate to physicians as well. Do you think so? VM: I don't know… Just the fact that it's gonna revolutionize how information is gonna be handled. And can people just go in and write down what their symptoms are and come out with reasonable… or will it need somebody to weigh those things… We don't know. VM:  It's going to be very interesting…. Our grandson is a….well he's actually a CPA, but he's not practicing.  He is with a company that evaluates businesses with regard to their efficiency and net worth… and will that be something that can be taken over?  And…who's going to be...sitting at the table, telling what the AI is supposed to do...asking the questions…. TM: Whatever you decide to pursue, you will succeed. VM: So those are things…how it's gonna play out. I hope it would work…Because their potential could be disastrous or could be wonderful. Or a mix of both, I guess.

VM: The advice I gave to our children as they went into college and looking for things that they want to do.  If you find something that you love doing, and can be reasonably comfortable financially doing it. It's much better than chasing money…. It's better to be comfortable and happy than doing something that you don't like doing but bringing in a lot of money.  Yeah, that's good advice. I agree. VM:  Whatever you like doing, and… you make enough to... to be reasonably comfortable.. you're happy….There are many people who chase the dollar and they're good at it, but they're not happy at it… You have to do what you like doing… Is that what you did…? Yeah. And it worked out. Was at it for over 50 years.. Yeah, it's a good sign.... Okay, Anderson…Well, thank you so much. You're welcome….