Trade Show Industry Leader Bert Tonkin Loses 12-Year Battle With Cancer

Furniture World Magazine

On Saturday, November 23, 2002, trade show industry leader Bert Tonkin lost his bravely fought 12-year battle with cancer and passed away at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loving family at the age of 76. His devoted wife, Mary Ann; his adoring daughters, Wendy Tonkin Breuner and Jill Tonkin Finegold; and his grandchildren Sean, Ryan, Joshua, Jake, Robbie and Ashton survive Bert. Bert Tonkin was born and raised in Portland Oregon. At age 17, immediately upon graduating from high school, Bert joined the U.S. Army Specialized Training Program and was enlisted in the Army Air Force. He served in World War II as a radar operator on B-17s and B-29s until his discharge in 1946. After his tour of duty with the Army Air Force, Bert first attended college at Oregon State University and two years later at the University of Oregon where he played on the same football team as famed quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. A graduate of the University of Oregon, class of 1949, he went on to receive an MBA from City college of New York and was elected into Et Mu Pi, the national retailing honorary society. After leaving NYCC in 1951, he became a buyer of gifts for the renowned Abraham and Straus store in Brooklyn –a position that would lead him to his career as a producer of gift shows in the West. He went on to produce three of the largest and most successful gift trade events in the county –the San Francisco International Gift Fair®, The Seattle Gift Show® and the Portland Gift & Accessories Show®. A resident of San Francisco since 1953, Bert built his San Francisco based firm—Western Exhibitors, Inc.—into one of the major trade show firms in the United States with shows in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and Orlando. His firm also has a major interest in public shows that include the prestigious San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, The Seattle Interiors Show and the highly regarded Toronto Art Fair. At the same time Bert was building Western Exhibitors, he served briefly as the General Manager of the San Francisco Mart and helped found the Northern California Chapter of the International Association of Exposition Managers. His personality, vision and innovations in the trade show industry made Bert an icon in his field and one of the most admired and beloved people in the business. Heavily involved in the local business and Jewish communities, Bert was widely known throughout San Francisco. He served on many boards of directors including the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, Big Brothers of San Francisco, The Concordia Argonaut club, the Jewish Museum, the Jewish Endowment Fund, Anti Defamation League and Temple Emanu-El. In recent years he was an honoree of the American Cancer Society, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in San Francisco and Gift For Life/American Foundation for Aids Research (AmFAR) in New York where an award has been named in his honor and called “The Bert Tonkin Gift of Giving Award”. Bert's substantial philanthropy has always reflected his passion for people. From the very beginning of his career, when he had nothing, Bert was the first one on the scene to help a friend or business associate in need. When he became successful he shared the fruits of his success through generous support of numerous charities and community efforts. Bert was also a major contributor to the University of Oregon, giving close to a million dollars to the School of Business over the past several years. Bert and his wife Mary Ann also received recognition for their significant contributions to the Woman and Infant Center of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. In recent years, Bert has lent tireless support to cancer victims through personal consultations to friends and acquaintances and significant donations to the American Cancer Society. He recently raised thousands of dollars for a new UCSF cancer research program because of his belief that such research extended his life well beyond his original expectations. A memorial service was held at Temple Emanu-el on Tuesday, November 26, 2002. Memorial contributions may be sent in Bert’s honor to your favorite charity or to: The Tonkin Cancer Research Fund for Melanoma, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, Attn; Megan Knudsvig De Graeve, UCSF Box 0248, San Francisco, CA 94143-0248.