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Jewish Community Mourns The Tragic Death Of Beloved Franklin Resident Harry Berkowitz

May 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

harry berkowitzA Birmingham teacher has been identified as the homicide victim whose discovery in a Franklin home led to a Royal Oak standoff Tuesday — and the apparent suicide of the suspected killer.

Franklin police confirmed the death of Harry Berkowitz, Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad said during a press conference this afternoon.

Police have not released Berkowitz’ name but said they are investigating a supicious death on Charles Lane. Public records show Berkowitz, 72, lived in a home on the that street, which is an exclusive area in Franklin. They are receiving help from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office processing evidence at the scene.

Read more at Free Press Birmingham mourns teacher found dead in Franklin; slaying suspect also dead after standoff | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

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Holocaust Survivor Henry Pestka, Pillar Of Grand Rapids Community, Dies At 93

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Henry Pestka, a Holocaust survivor who escaped a Nazi concentration camp, shaped the family and Grand Rapids community he loved.

Pestka died Friday, Feb. 15, at the East Grand Rapids home where he lived since 1964. He was 93.

“He certainly was someone to whom working hard and taking care of his family was really important,” said his son, Steve Pestka, a former Kent County judge and state representative. “He was a very remarkable person, and he really was an inspiration to me.

“I just hope that his life serves as an inspiration to a lot of people who are burdened or suffering.”

Henry Pestka’s legacy was not only defined by his perseverance and courage during the Holocaust and WWII but also by the life he forged for himself and his family in Grand Rapids. He rose from jobs at a gas station and auto supply factories to a national real estate developer of shopping centers, office buildings, restaurants, apartment complexes and industrial buildings.

Read more at MLive Holocaust survivor Henry Pestka, pillar of Grand Rapids community, dies at 93 | MLive.com.

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RIP Emily Stillman – Kalamazoo College Student From West Bloomfield Dies From Bacterial Meningitis

February 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

emilystillman

Kalamazoo — A sophomore at Kalamazoo College has died after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and at least 120 people are getting antibiotic treatment as a precaution, officials said.

Emily Stillman, 19, of West Bloomfield Township, died Sunday due to complications from the infection after being taken to a hospital early Friday, the school said in a statement. Her funeral is Tuesday at The Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid that surrounds a persons spinal cord and the brain. No additional cases of bacterial meningitis have been reported, the school said, and those in close contact with Stillman were urged to get antibiotic treatment.Health officials said the likelihood of additional cases at Kalamazoo College is low.

About 350 students, faculty, and staff at the southwestern Michigan school gathered in Stetson Chapel on Sunday to remember Stillman. Some wrote messages to her on lanterns made out of paper bags and candles, and placed them on and around a bench.

Friends recalled her as funny, sarcastic and an overwhelming presence.”You just feel her when she walks into a room,” friend Nicole Caddow, a fellow sophomore at the school, told MLive.com. “You just know Emily Stillman is there.”Kalamazoo College President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran said in an email to the campus community that Stillman died with family members by her side.

“On behalf of the Kalamazoo College community, I extend heartfelt condolences to Emilys family, friends, teachers, and fellow students,” Wilson-Oyelaran wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who knew and loved her.

“The schools Student Health Center extended its hours to reach out to students to provide antibiotic treatment, offer information about symptoms and discuss vaccination recommendations. Cou

via Detroit News Kalamazoo College student from West Bloomfield Twp. dies after bacterial meningitis diagnosis | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com.

Funeral and Shiva information at Dorfman Chapel

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Mary Fink: Avid Volunteer, 104, Said Secret To Longevity Was Helping Others

January 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment

maryfink

At a party celebrating her 100th birthday, Mary Fink was asked about the secret to her longevity.

“She said, ‘Helping others,’ ” recalled her son, Free Press attorney Herschel Fink. “I think it was also her remarkable outlook on life. She was a glass half full, not empty, person.”

Ms. Fink, 104, of West Bloomfield died Monday at the Lakeland Center nursing facility in Southfield. She had been in remarkable health until a stroke late last week, her son said.

“I often asked people to guess how many pills a day she took. The answer was none, although she did take a baby aspirin every day,” Fink said.

One of nine children, Ms. Fink was born in 1909 in a village near Bucharest, Romania. Her tenacity and independence showed at an early age, when her family hid in a cellar as bombs fell during World War I.

Read more at Free Press Mary Fink: Avid volunteer, 104, said secret to longevity was helping others | Oakland County | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

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Milton (Mickey) Fishman: Former Star Athlete Remained Dedicated To Sports

January 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Milton (Mickey) Fishman followed all of the Detroit sports teams, especially the Tigers, but it was his love of the teams at his alma mater — University of Michigan — that really captured his attention.

Mr. Fishman excelled in baseball and swimming at Northern High School in Detroit and later became a top pitcher for the U-M baseball team, leading the team to a Big Ten Championship in 1942.

“He was a great baseball player,” said Detroit attorney Steve Fishman, Mr. Fishman’s nephew. “He grew up in an athletic family and was the youngest of four boys who played sports.”

Mr. Fishman died Friday after a brief illness. He was 92.

Born in Detroit on Jan. 28, 1920, Mr. Fishman was a child of Russian immigrant parents who instilled a love of sports and country in their children.

After graduating from Northern High School in 1937, Mr. Fishman attended U-M, where his older brothers Ben, Manny and Herman also went and excelled in sports.

The brothers are the only four in the history of the university to all earn varsity letters, Steve Fishman said.

After college, Mr. Fishman enlisted in the Navy, where he was commissioned as an ensign.

Mr. Fishman was sent overseas, where his ship was involved in seven invasions during World War II, including the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, Steve Fishman said.

After returning to Detroit, Mr. Fishman married Bertha (Boots) Schneider. The couple had four daughters.

After his return from the war, Mr. Fishman and his brothers built a summer sports camp in northern Michigan. Camp Michigama, which operated for more than 20 years, was in West Branch and taught hundreds of Jewish Detroit-area youths the value of sportsmanship and discipline.

“The kids would wake up in the morning and salute the flag and go to bed with Taps,” Steve Fishman said.

Mr. Fishman was also in the scrap business, and in his last years he was a steel broker.

His love of sports prompted Mr. Fishman to be one of the founders of the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Fishman was inducted in 1998 for his collegiate baseball career.

“Most of my happiest memories of him are playing baseball, tennis and in later years golf,” Steve Fishman said. “He lived a great, extraordinary life.”

His wife died in 1971. The couple’s daughter Cindy died in 1998.

Mr. Fishman is survived by daughters Nancy, Marcia and Bonnie; six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. at the Ira Kaufman Chapel, 18325 W. Nine Mile, Southfield. Burial will be at the Clover Hill Park Cemetery, 2425 E. Fourteen Mile, Birmingham.

Contributions in memory of Mr. Fishman may be made to the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, 2000 Oakley Park Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

via Free Press Milton (Mickey) Fishman: Former star athlete remained dedicated to sports | Obituaries | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

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SAD NEWS: Rabbi Irwin Groner, 81 Rabbi Emeritus Of Congregation Shaarey Zedek In Southfield

December 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Rabbi Irwin Groner, 81, of Southfield, Michigan, died on 30 December 2012.

The funeral will be held at Congregation Shaarey Zedek on Tuesday, 1 January 2013 at 2:00 PM .

Rabbis Joseph Krakoff, Aaon Starr, Alan Lucas and Cantor Meir Finkelstein will officiate.

Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Rabbi Irwin Groner came to Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Detroit in 1959 as an assistant to Rabbi Morris Adler, of blessed memory. Rabbi Groner endeared himself to the leaders and members of the congregation with his integrity, wisdom, warmth and brilliant mind. He was named senior rabbi in 1967. In 1978, he was elected Rabbi of the congregation for life.

A gifted orator, Rabbi Groner served the congregation with great distinction for over 40 years. In the fall of 2003, Rabbi Groner was granted the honorary title of Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Groner served as President of the Rabbinical Assembly an international group of rabbis from 1990-1992. He served as chairman of the Governing Board of the “Etz Chayim”, the one-volume Torah Commentary that was produced for the Conservative Movement by the Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Publication Society.

Rabbi Groner has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and the Board of Governors of the United Synagogue. He served as chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly Conventions of 1976 and 1977, was co-chairman of the National Youth Commission of the United Synagogue from 1972-1976 and vice-president of the Jewish Community Council from 1974-1976. He was also a president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis.

In 1984, Michigan Governor James Blanchard appointed him the first clergyman to serve on the States Judicial Tenure Commission, and subsequently served as its vice-chairman. Rabbi Groner has been actively involved in programs of of interfaith dialogue in the Metropolitan Detroit Community. Rabbi Groner holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago, where he was ordained.

In 1982, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America for his outstanding service to the synagogue, the Conservative Movement and to Klal Yisrael. Rabbi Groner recently published a book which contains some of his High Holiday Sermons, entitled “Renewing Jewish Faith”. His sermons, essays and articles have been published in periodicals of the Conservative Movement. Additionally, he wrote a monthly column for the Detroit Jewish News on the weekly Torah portion.

via Ira Kaufman Funeral Details – Ira Kaufman Chapel.

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Teacher And Educator Rabbi Dr. Leo Y. Goldman, 93

December 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

We regret to inform you of the recent passing of

 

RABBI DR. LEO Y. GOLDMAN

 

A funeral service will be held Saturday evening, December 29, 2012 at 7:30 PM at Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

Rabbi Goldman will be buried in Israel

The family will observe Shiva at the residence
14131 Victoria
Oak Park, MI 48237

goldmanMore information about the funeral at Hebrew Memorial 

In 2010 The Detroit News published an amazing story about Rabbi Goldman:

 

Soldier, Holocaust Survivor Have Emotional Reunion After 65 Years

In the fall of 1945, a Soviet soldier hoisted a 5-year-old boy aloft and paraded him through a Lithuanian synagogue that had been closed throughout a long Nazi occupation.

For 65 years, the boy and the soldier carried that moment in their heads and hearts. Unknown to each other, they told the story to family and friends. A Toronto songwriter memorialized it in song. The boy became a man and included the anecdote in his 2003 book.

On Thursday, they met and embraced for the first time since then in Rabbi Leo Goldman’s Oak Park living room.

“It was very emotional, much more than I would have expected,” says the former small boy. He is Abraham Foxman, the New York-based director of the Anti-Defamation League. In that role, he is a public voice against racial and religious intolerance.

The soldier is Goldman, 91, an Orthodox rabbi in Oak Park and an educator who continued to work as a Beaumont Hospital chaplain until a few months ago.

Read more Soldier, Holocaust Survivor Have Emotional Reunion After 65 Years.

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Beloved Detroit Weatherman Marvin Schlossberg AKA Sonny Eliot Dies At 91

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

DETROIT (WWJ) – Beloved Detroit Weatherman and WWJ Newsradio 950′s own Sonny Eliot has died at age 91.

Eliot died peacefully at his Farmington Hills home with family members and loved ones by his side.

His family made the notification on Friday morning.

Eliot was born Marvin Schlossberg on December 5, 1920 on Hastings Street in Detroit, the city he adored — and the city adored Eliot and his wife Annette, right back.

Eliot’s parents owned a hardware store and when times got tough, Eliot remembered with great fondness the mustard sandwiches and ketchup soup his mother and sister would make him.

Eliot said it was his mother who gave him the nickname “Sonny” and in the post-depression tough times, also gave him his legendary sense of humor Detroiters have missed since Eliot’s retirement in 2010.

Read more at CBS Detroit Beloved Detroit Weatherman Sonny Eliot Dies « CBS Detroit.

Funeral arrangements by Dorfman Chapel, click here for details.

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Gabe Werba, Metro Detroit Public Relations Leader, Dies

November 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Gabriel Werba, 82, longtime metro Detroit public relations executive and fixture of Detroit’s cultural scene, died Wednesday at his home after a brief illness.

Werba’s career spanned five decades, most recently as a founding principal of the Durocher Dixson Werba LLC public and financial relations firm and earlier as president and COO of the Anthony M. Franco Inc. public relations firm.

Werba, a resident of Farmington Hills and Tucson, Ariz., was cited most often for his role as mentor to two generations of PR practitioners. He was inducted into the Public Relations Society of America’s prestigious College of Fellows in 1992 and the PRSA-Detroit Hall of Fame in 2001.

Whether counseling clients such as Merrill Lynch, Michigan Bank and the State Bar of Michigan, or serving on the boards of organizations such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall and Attic Theatre, Werba was a quiet and steady influence on the business and arts communities of Detroit and Michigan.

Born in Paris, Werba learned English from American movies, graduating from an American high school as salutatorian at 15 and from the University of Texas at 18. He also attended New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration and its School of Law. He served on the board of directors of American Mensa, the high IQ society, as well as International Mensa.

Professionally, Werba was best known for leading the PR effort to legalize non-Indian casinos in Michigan and, earlier, to enact Michigan’s bottle deposit law. Personally, his love of theater, art, film and music led him to serve on boards ranging from the Detroit Chamber Music Society, Harbinger Dance Company, Detroit Chamber Winds, Friends of the Detroit Public Library’s Film Society, and the Detroit Institute of Arts’ exhibits and marketing committees, among many others.

His civic responsibilities included leadership roles in organizations such as Common Ground, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, the Inner City Business Improvement Forum (ICBIF), Sinai Hospital and a host of other activities.

Werba is survived by his wife, Barrie, and children Annmarie Bragdon and Dean Werba. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Dorfman Chapel, 30440 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Common Ground are suggested.

via Crain’s Detroit Business Gabriel Werba, metro Detroit public relations leader, dies | Crain’s Detroit Business.

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Stanford Ovshinsky, Solar Cells Innovator And Famous Inventor, Dies At 89

October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The creative mind of Stanford Ovshinsky touched vast areas of modern American life, from the laptop computer and digital camera to today’s electric cars.

Ovshinsky, the holder of some 400 U.S. patents and the author of more than 300 scientific papers, died late Wednesday. He was 89.

His inventions formed the heart of solar cells that power buildings and the nickel hydride batteries that run cameras, laptops, and cell phones.

But he openly derided the notion that he should get rich off his work, preferring instead to tackle the biggest problems imaginable, like using new energy devices to head off global warming.

“We are using science and technology to solve serious societal problems,” he said during a 2002 interview. “We have committed ourselves and dedicated ourselves to that…. All the other things are ephemeral, not important to me. We’re not after huge monies or power. If we don’t get recognition, that’s OK, too. We’re not after the plaudits or the prizes. We’re after doing what we said we were going to do: make a difference and build a better world.”

His son, Harvey Ovshinsky, said in a statement released today that his father died peacefully at his home in Bloomfield Hills.

“Our family grieves the loss to the world of our deeply loved father, husband, grandfather, brother and outstanding contributor to humanity.

“To the end, Stan was true to his character, always solving, always learning. Even in his last days, while in and out of his deep sleep, he told us he was still ‘trying to figure it out.’

“Knowing Dad, I’m sure he did.”

via Free Press Stanford Ovshinsky, solar cells innovator and inventor, dies at 89 | Obituaries | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

Funeral Information at Dorfman Chapel 

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