Elias Benguigui, of Perfect Optical, has died

Wednesday, November 13 2013 | 00 h 00 min | News

Elias Benguigui, a well-known figure in Canada’s optical industry, particularly for his work with Perfect Optical, died during the night of November 10–11.

Elias Benguigui died at home, at the age of 83, just after he decided to embark on a well-deserved retirement. He had been having heart failure for a few months, but had regained his strength and started to exercise again. “He continued to be actively involved in Perfect Optical almost to the very end,” says his nephew, Adrian Maas. “Not even a year ago, we were still traveling around the world together to meet clients. Retirement just wasn’t for him!”

A native of Tangier, Morocco, Elias Benguigui initially resided in France after the Second World War, before coming to Canada to join his brother, Jacques, founder of Perfect Optical. Together, they worked long hours to make their company a success. “They would go all the way to Manitoba to present their products, though neither spoke a word of English,” says Adrian Maas. “But they didn’t care – they had good products to sell and they did it well.” In 1999, Elias Benguigui founded Superclip Canada with Adrian Maas.

Those who would like to pay their last respects can do so on Wednesday, November 13, at 3:00 p.m., at Paperman & Fils, located at 3888, Jean-Talon Street West, in Montreal.