Obits

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

CHARLES

BENDER, 92, of Commerce Township, died Feb. 24, 2022. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sharon Bender; sons and daughters-in-law, Bruce and Betsy Bender, Larry and Renee Bender, Jonathan Ocker; daughter, Stefanie Ocker; sister-in-law, Sandy Alfred; daughter-in-law, Kathy Bender-Slagen; brother, Marty Edelman; grandchildren, Joshua, Melanie (Nick), Michael, Emily and Corey, Lindsey, Ben and Andrew; great-grandchildren, Tucker, Ava, Ayden, Augustus, Delilah Rose and Ayden Bent Bender; many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends; his loyal companion, Bella.

Mr. Bender was the father of the late Mark Bender; brother of the late Roz Gold and the late Mildred Wish.

Interment took place at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

MICHELE

BENJAMIN, 53, of Bloomfield Hills, died Feb. 25, 2022. She is survived by her beloved husband, Mike Rowoldt; parents, Rosalie and Allan Benjamin; brother, David Benjamin; many loving family members and friends.

Interment was held at Adat Shalom Memorial

NO ONE LIKES TO PLAN A FUNERAL.

BUT YOU CAN PLAN TO LIKE THE GUIDANCE AND SERVICE YOU GET FROM A FUNERAL HOME.

Arranging a funeral is an emotional process. But choosing the right funeral home can help alleviate the stress. That’s why people turn to us. We understand the wants and needs of families from all walks of Judaism. Our fresh look and feel make everyone feel welcome. We’re centrally located, and our pricing is fair. Our care—and our caring—help ease the burden of a loss. Making a Dorfman difference everyone will appreciate.

30440 W. TWELVE MILE ROAD, FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334 248.406.6000 | THEDORFMANCHAPEL.COM

Monument Center Inc.

“Same Location Over 80 Years”

Monuments and Markers Bronze Markers MONUMENT CENTER INC. Memorial Duplicating Cemetery Lettering & Cleaning

“Same Location 80 Years”

CEMETERY INSTALLATION ANYWHERE IN MICHIGAN

Monuments and Markers 248-542-8266 Bronze Markers Memorial Duplicating Cemetery Lettering & Cleaning CEMETERY INSTALLATION ANYWHERE IN MICHIGAN Call 248-542-8266

661 E.8 MILE ROAD FERNDALE 1 1/2 blocks East ofWoodward www.MonumentCenterMichigan.com

If you are not wearing it… sell it!... or BORROW on it!

You can’t enjoy jewelry if it’s sitting in your safe deposit box. Sell or borrow on it for immediate cash. We deal in jewelry, watches, diamonds and coins. We deal in jewelry, watches, diamonds and coins.

A Service to Private Owners, Banks & Estates

Coins & Jewelry

Contact Raymond Jenkins

33700 Woodward Ave. • Between 14 Mile & Adams • Birmingham, MI 248-644-8565

Some days seem to last forever… We’re offering one that actually will.

You can honor the memory of a loved one in a most meaningful way by sponsoring a day of Torah learning at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. During the coming week, Kaddish will be said for these departed souls during the daily minyan at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. Your support of the Torah learning of our children and our Kollel’s Torah Scholars brings immeasurable heavenly merit. Please call us at 248-557-6750 for more information. 3 Adar II March 6

Regina Jablonka 15 Adar II March 18

Helen Weiss 17 Adar II March 20

Birdie Barris

Lillian Belkin

Bernice Daniels

Sarah Eizen

Kate Henock

Szmul Jutkiewicz

Maurice Katz

Isaac Levine

Bernard Naiman

Paula Dresner Renaud

Gertrude Schwartz 18 Adar II March 21

Samuel Beznos

Stuart Samuel Chosid

Steven Marshall Gotlib

Hedwig Greenbaum

Moses Hausman

Louis Hyman

Fannie Komisar

Harold Moshel

Abe Nusbaum

Louis Pelavin

Harry Raskin

Al Shacket

Max Sherman 19 Adar II March 22

Harry Averbuch

Rose Baggleman Leo Barth Bertha Glazer Rebecca Katzer Dr Leslie I Moss A. Leon Peck Kate Pitkowsky Rose Ross Rachel Scherr Jack H. Schey Anna Schwartz Eva Shlakman Edward Tarnopol Julius Wasserman Meyer Weisberg Katie Zamler 20 Adar II March 23 Lillian Bluestein Anne Cooper Emanuel Danzig Sadie Delin Esther Jacobson Beth Mindy Kaplan Morris Korman Abraham Morris Kreplak Hyman Mickelson Mack Pitt Max H. Sallan Samuel Wiernik 21 Adar II March 24 Jen Alexander Louis Barsky Chaja Sora Blank Jacob Chaben Clara Elukin Elizabeth Joseph Hyman Lerner Leah Menuck Dora Norber Sylvia Silverstein Nellie Wolf 22 Adar II March 25 Harry Antman Hymie Armeland Rex William Berman Ethel Bruseloff Ethel Dworkin Mollie Goldberg Louis Honigman Sarah Karbal Pearl Keller Anna Pesochinskaya Roy Radner Max Rosenfeld Isaac (Izzy) Sigal Irving Lawrence Stern 23 Adar II March 26 Betty Barill Alexander Farber Norman Fill Sarah Horovitz Rebecca Lipshitz Anna Silverman Beckie Traub Wendy Weitzman Samuel Winograd

School for Boys • Beth Jacob School for Girls • Bais Yehudah Preschool Weiss Family Partners Detroit • Kollel Bais Yehudah • Maalot Detroit P.O. Box 2044 • Southfield, MI 48037• 248-557-6750 • www.YBY.org

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

continued from page 57

Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the Peritoneal Mesothelioma Research Foundation or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

BARBARA

DANN BERRY, 95, Bloomfield Hills, died March 5, 2022. While her family was the center of her life, Barbara was also an active and devoted member of several Jewish organizations, including Hadassah, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, American Friends of the Hebrew University and Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood. She took special joy in mentoring young, low-income single mothers in need of support and strongly supported Planned Parenthood.

Mrs. Berry had a great love of traveling, having traveled all over the world with her husband, Harold, during their 67 years of marriage. She was also an avid supporter of the arts and had an especially keen eye for fashion and interior design. In her final years, she battled courageously with her declining health, but to the great relief of her family, she never lost her delightful sense of humor.

Mrs. Berry was the cherished mother of Lawrence (Sharon) Berry, Elliott Berry (Campbell Harvey) and Miriam Berry (the late Peter) Seagle; proud grandmother of Matthew Berry (Josh Goldfoot), Katherine Berry (Michael Stewart), Jacob (Anna) Berry, Meggie Berry Harvey (Ash Mohney), Olivia Seagle (Timothy) Brennan and Elizabeth Dann Seagle; adoring great-grandmother of Eliana Seagle Brennan, Nora Berry Brennan, Jonah Harold Berry and Evan Bartlett Berry. She is also survived by loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Berry; parents, Moe and Dorothy Dann; brothers, Alvin Dann and Mike Dann; and sister-in-law, Selma Snider Schwartz.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Jewish Family Service, 6555 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, jfsdetroit.org; Planned Parenthood, 3100 Professional Drive, P.O. Box 3673, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, plannedparenthood. org; or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

RUSSELL

KASMER, passed away Feb. 26, 2022, surrounded by his family, in West Palm

Beach, Fla.

Russell “Russ” Eric Kasmer was born in 1947 in Detroit to Eleanor Selik (Kasmer) and Alex Kasmer. He was employed as an electrician for 58 years and for 24 years with Florida Power and Light in the Fort Lauderdale area. He graduated from Nova Southern University with a master’s degree in business.

Mr. Kasmer is survived

by his wife, Judy; daughter, Emily; many stepchildren and grandchildren; sister, Carol Irving (Kasmer); many nieces and nephews in Montana and Michigan.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eleanor Selik and Alex Kasmer; and his brother, Bob (Robert) Kasmer.

Per his wishes, there will be no funeral services.

JANET ROSENBERG

LEINWAND, 85, of West Bloomfield, formerly of Tarrytown, N.Y., died March 6, 2022.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Jamie and Barry Ludwig; and grandchildren, Lane and Jake.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Burton Leinwand.

Contributions may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to a charity of one’s choice.

MARILYN RUTH

LESSE, 95, of Farmington Hills, died March 2, 2022. She is survived by her husband, Harold Lesse; son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Katherine Lesse of Ann Arbor; daughters and sons-in-law, Karen Lesse Chinich of Hillsborough, N.J., Gina and Christopher Pyzik; grandchildren, Sera and Neil Vajda, Amber Lesse and Daniel Solomon, Julian Lesse, Madelline and Andrew Carano, Emma and Taylor Wood, Ian Chinich, Derek and Melissa Chinich, Nathanial Pyzik, Noah Pyzik; great-grandchildren, Evelyn Vajda, Jude Vajda, Nevaeh Carano, Elle Carano, Kristin Carano, Kira Chinich; by many loving cousins, other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Lesse was the loving daughter of the late David and the late Zella Werber; dear sister and sister-in-law of the late Annalee and the late Martin Bierman.

Contributions may be made to a breast cancer charity. A graveside service was held at Beth Tikvah Cemetery. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

ARLENE PEISS, 88, of Cypress, Texas, died March 9, 2022.

She is survived by her children, Sharilyn (Joseph) Milcoun, Stuart Peiss and Judy (the late David Snyder) Peiss-Snyder; grandchildren, Andrea Podlesney, Jeffrey (Chelsea) Milcoun, Erin Peiss (finace, Nick Bretthaver), and Matthew Peiss; great-grandchildren, Dominick, Mason and Scarlett; many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

Mrs. Peiss was the beloved wife of the late Seymour Peiss.

continued on page 60

We understand that grief is a part of love. Let us assist your family during this difficult period.

OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY

continued from page 59

Interment was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

JERRY ZABEL, a resident of West Bloomfield, died on March 9, 2022, at the age of 77.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Rochelle Zabel; daughters and son-in-law, Marla (Jason) Golnick and Elisa Zabel; his adoring granddaughters, Ariel and Rayna Golnick, and Lillian and Ruby Harwin; sister, Judith “Cookie” Stein (late husband Sol Stein); his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Frank and Beth Grund; many nieces, nephews and cousins who absolutely cherished him. In addition, he leaves behind a lifetime of wonderful friends.

Mr. Zabel was predeceased by his siblings, Phyliss (the late Sonny) Damraur, Marlene “Malky” (the late Hersh) Goldberg, Herbert “Sonny” (the late Sharon) Zabel.

Interment was held at Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia. Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, to Congregation Beth Ahm or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

Influential Reform Rabbi Shim Maslin Died

Rabbi Simeon “Shim” Maslin, a national leader in the Reform movement who pushed Reform Jews to embrace lifecycle traditions and a more substantive interpretation of mitzvah, died from cancer on Jan. 29, 2022. He was 90.

Maslin was the senior rabbi at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, for 17 years, from 1980 to 1997 — his last stop in a 50-plus-year career that included positions in Chicago, Curaçao and Monroe, New York. He also served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, an organization uniting about 2,000 Reform rabbis.

As a Reform leader, Maslin wrote the book Gates of Mitzvah in 1979, which introduced classic Jewish life cycle practices into the Reform movement.

Maslin’s insight helped modern Jews go deeper and conduct baby namings, marriages and funerals in an authentic fashion.

“He played that role of reintroducing tradition into Reform Judaism,” current Keneseth Israel Rabbi Lance Sussman said.

The book was so influential that Sussman had read it before he’d even met the leader of the congregation he would one day lead.

Maslin was a proponent of other innovative ideas within the Reform movement, including interfaith hospitality.

Maslin described himself as a “religious naturalist.” In a 1997 piece for the Inquirer, he wrote: “The function of a Jew is to be co-creator, with God, of the world. The task of the human being is to perfect the world, using the tools God gives us.”

Source: Philadelphia Jewish Exponent via JTA

OBITUARIES OBITUARIES

OF BLESSED MEMORY OF BLESSED MEMORY

continued from page XX

Persons name

from pay equity to sexual harassMoluptas imincieni utecte cullatem volor minusapis et earum eniminvel earum et et que modit reictium earum ratque vollorunt labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.

Obissitiorum natioreius nosanih illatet uritis etur?

Luptius nonsequi des maio

Et debis eium excerum laut vent as et laut dit porestrum, et plaborporunt as eatquaepelit pro bearum, a volorpos estias dolupie ndenduciatem consequ istiis quam, ipicilit volupti oribusam fuga. Menis vent doluptatem et earchil licatibus.

Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad quam nulliquo tem facea dipidel enieniant |

Persons name

from pay equity to sexual harassMoluptas imincieni utecte cullatem volor minusapis et earum eniminvel earum et et que modit reictium earum ratque vollorunt labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.

Obissitiorum natioreius nosanih illatet uritis etur?

Luptius nonsequi des maio

Et debis eium excerum laut vent as et laut dit porestrum, et plaborporunt as eatquaepelit pro bearum, a volorpos estias dolupie ndenduciatem consequ istiis quam, ipicilit volupti oribusam fuga. Menis vent doluptatem et earchil licatibus.

Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad quam nulliquo tem facea dipidel enieniant

Persons name

from pay equity to sexual harassMoluptas imincieni utecte cullatem volor minusapis et earum eniminvel earum et et que modit reictium earum ratque vollorunt labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.

Obissitiorum natioreius nosanih illatet uritis etur?

Luptius nonsequi des maio

Et debis eium excerum laut vent as et laut dit porestrum, et plaborporunt as eatquaepelit pro bearum, a volorpos estias dolupie ndenduciatem consequ istiis quam, ipicilit volupti oribusam fuga. Menis vent doluptatem et earchil licatibus.

Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad quam nulliquo tem facea dipidel enieniant

Persons name

from pay equity to sexual harassMoluptas imincieni utecte cullatem volor minusapis et earum eniminvel earum et et que modit reictium earum ratque vollorunt labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.

Obissitiorum natioreius nosanih illatet uritis etur?

Luptius nonsequi des maio

Et debis eium excerum laut vent as et laut dit porestrum, et plaborporunt as eatquaepelit pro bearum, a volorpos estias dolupie ndenduciatem consequ istiis quam, ipicilit volupti oribusam fuga. Menis vent doluptatem et earchil licatibus.

Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad quam nulliquo tem facea dipidel enieniant As women’s issues — from pay equity to sexual harass Moluptas imincieni utecte cullatem volor minus apis et earum enim invel earum et et que modit reic tium earum ratque vollorunt labo. Ut repello ratur, optat. vollorunt

Obissitiorum natioreius nosanih illatet uritis etur?

Luptius nonse qui des maioEt debis eium excerum laut vent as et laut dit porestrum, et plabo rporunt as eatquaepelit pro bearum, a volorpos estias dolupie ndendu ciatem consequ istiis quam, ipicilit volupti oribusam fuga. Menis vent doluptatem et earchil licatibus vent dolupt atem.Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad quam

THIS IS A SUBHEAD

Harum sinveliqui unt hic tet facid que consequ iatiori rum audam earum de plias et offictu sandit eium qui tem facea doluptas sequatur, accul laborum itae voluptatibus expelen isciiss equiatur, ut landio. Et utatem reperch ilignat iore dam adit ant, quiae as aut hil iumquam adit ant, quiae as aut

Harum sinveliqui unt hic tet facid que consequ iatioriorrum audam earum de plias et offictu sandit eium qui tem facea doluptas sequatur, acc laborum iditae voluptatibus expelen isciiss landio. Et utatem reperch ilignat iorepudam Harum sinveliqui unt hic tet facid que consequ iatiorio audam

Special Obit Headline Deck 14/15 Lincoln Proxima Nova/Regular WRITERS NAME CONTRIBUTING WRITER earum de plias et offictu sandit eium qui tem facea doluptas sequatur, accul de plias et offictu sandit eium qui tem facea doluptas iumquam hilicidus maximet odi dio te nos es int ut aut et sequatur, accull abo iditae equiatur, ut landio. Et

Name this is LincolnProxima Nova

Bold Italic 8/10 information is Lincoln Proxima Nova light italic 8/10 continued on page XX

Several weeks have passed since Robert “Rob” Wachler, 68, died in his Pleasant Ridge home on Feb. 21, 2022, of an auditory nerve tumor. In that time, his mother, Barbara Wachler, said she hasn’t stopped “hearing love stories from anyone, males as well as females, who ever had any contact with him. People are saying, ‘He changed my life.’” That’s because, for all his accomplishments in business and charitable work, Rob found his biggest success in life through his human relationships.

Professionally, Rob had a long career as a haberdasher. For more than 25 years, he was associated with Nashville-based clothier Tom James Company in Southfield.

Earlier, Rob worked in the Wachler family’s former Osmuns and John Kent clothing stores, and as a manager at the former Jacobson’s store in Birmingham.

His retailing and relationship-building abilities served Rob well as board chair of Threads for Success. The nonprofit organization he founded in 2006 has mentored more than 1,000 young men graduating from high school. The culmination is each graduate receiving a top-quality, custom-fitted suit, complete with shirt and tie, to look his most professional at business and academic interviews. Rob was born in Detroit on May 26, 1953, to Barbara and the late Norman Wachler, a longtime executive of the nonOBITUARY CHARGES profit agency JARC. Rabbi M. Robert Syme The processing fee for officiated at Rob’s bar mitzvah at Temple obituaries is: $125 for up Israel in Detroit. The Wachlers later moved to 100 words; $1 per word to Huntington Woods. thereafter. A photo counts as

Karen Wachler adored her big brother. 15 words. There is no charge “From as long as I could remember, people for a Holocaust survivor icon. of all ages were always so drawn to Rob,” The JN reserves the right she said. “I felt like the luckiest person in to edit wording to conform to the world because it was like living back- its style considerations. For stage with a rock star!” information, have your funeral

Prior to college, Rob joined the Peace director call the JN or you Corps. He met his future wife and fellow may call Sy Manello, editorial volunteer, Judy Coomes of Chicago, flying assistant, at (248) 351-5147 from New York to Tunisia in North Africa. or email him at smanello@ They taught English before returning to thejewishnews.com. Detroit in 1977. Their wedding day was Dec. 16, 1978. “Throughout our 45 years together, we were often surprised and delighted by each new stage of loving each other,” Judy Wachler said. “I feel that we reached a pinnacle in our last year as Rob’s disease progressed. As his life was drawing to a close, we spoke often of this pure and intense love we had discovered in those sad yet beautiful days.”

DEVOTED TO FAMILY

The Wachler daughters, Sarah and Amy, were born during the family’s 11 years in Huntington Woods. The family’s final move was to Pleasant Ridge in 1990. Judy, a teacher, said she and Rob were active parents at their daughters’ schools. Amy Wachler said her father “worked hard but was always present.” They shared a bond as marathon runners. “This January in Houston, I reached a goal I had worked hard at — running a marathon under 3 hours,” Amy said. “He was so excited seeing me run the race of my life. Dad was (virtually) with me every step.” The next day he told her he was starting hospice. Both daughters hold fond memories of watching their dad at his clothing stores. “He sold some of the finest clothing in the

He Dressed Others for Success ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER world,” said Amy. “But my dad didn’t just help people get dressed for work; he helped them get ready for life. With Threads for Success, he helped students get dressed for their future with confidence.” “Dad felt like a lighthouse to my family — me, my sister and my mom,” Sarah Wachler Philip said. “He was always the steady beacon you could go to for advice or to ask questions.” Sarah had an opportunity during a summer college break to work at a guest ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Her “unparalleled dad” quickly decided to “take a week out of his life and drive out west with me.” Staying another five days, they took overnight backpacking trips. When Sarah felt scared Rob Wachler for him to leave, Rob said, “‘You need to do this on your own. You’re going to have an adventure. You’re going to be fine.’” The “nudge” he gave “built confidence that I could handle different situations.” Her children, ages 13, 11 and 8, always got a week alone with their grandparents each year. “Dad took my oldest son, Jack, then 11, to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.,” Sarah said. “He’d play Spiderman on the floor with his youngest grandson, Miles, and they would go sledding.” As for his granddaughter Sam — “she was his princess.” It was special for the family in January when, in spite of his illness, Rob participated in Jack’s bar mitzvah in Ohio. Rob Wachler is survived by his wife, Judy; daughters, Sarah (Ben) Philip of Columbus, Ohio, and Amy (fiancé, Francis Sams) Wachler of Boston; grandchildren, Jack, Samantha and Miles Philip; mother, Barbara Wachler; and sister, Karen (Charley Stern) Wachler. He was the son of the late Norman Wachler and brother of the late Judith Ann Wachler. Memorial contributions may be designated to Threads for Success at threadsforsuccess.org. A private funeral gathering took place Feb. 22. A celebration of his life is being planned for Memorial Day Weekend.