MONNI MUST NATURALLY PHOTOGRAPHY
OUR COMMUNITY
Mary Must
Grieving Grandmother Benefits Group Homes JVS+Kadima receives donation to help people with mental illness. BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER Miya Must
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rom tragedy and grief has come a generous gift that will help those in the community who are struggling with mental illness. Mary Must, 102, has donated $100,000 to JVS+Kadima, which runs 20 residential houses and apartments for adults with severe and long-term mental illness. The gift continues Must’s munificence to the organization. In 2008, she bought a home in Southfield, to be administered by JVS+Kadima, in memory of her granddaughter, Miya Jo Must, who died by suicide in 2007 at the age of 28. Must also included JVS+Kadima in her will, planning
Hadassah Advocates for Infertility Treatments Hadassah sent a letter to members of Congress outlining the disproportionate impact infertility has on the Jewish community and urging Congress to recognize that infertility is a disease that needs further research to improve treatments and out-
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to leave $100,000 to the organization. She recently decided to make that gift now, in her and her late husband’s names, while she is still living. The new Mary and Mike (z”l) Must Home Improvement Fund will enhance life for JVS+Kadima’s residents. She said this would let her see the benefits her gift made possible. After her death, she asked, “How would I know then?” Mary Must was born in Detroit. She and Mike married when he was 23 and she was 18. They worked side-by-side in the family business, Dairy Fresh Foods Inc., a regional wholesale distributor that grew from a small cheese-making business started comes and that individuals and families need access to infertility-related services. “For too long, infertility and the struggle toward parenthood have been topics of quiet suffering, particularly in the Jewish community,” said Rhoda Smolow, Hadassah National President. “That’s why Hadassah is leading the call for change. By asking policymakers to expand access
by Mike’s father. She oversaw the back-office activities for decades, said grandson Jay Must, of Bloomfield Township. “My grandmother worked and still meaningfully contributed into her 98th year,” he said. “I know because I was one of three people who shared her workload when she was off!” The Musts lived in Detroit, Oak Park and Southfield. Mary moved to a condo in Bloomfield Township after Mike died in 1997. They had three children, Alan Must, the late Madelon Seligman and Joel Must. Mary has eight surviving grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren ages 3 months to 22.
The Musts were longtime members and lay leaders of now-defunct Congregation B’nai David, where Mike was a past president. For many years, Mary cared for the underfunded B’nai David Cemetery on Van Dyke in Detroit. She stopped only when the groundskeeper left. The Musts supported many Jewish causes locally and in Israel.
to infertility care and reduce the financial burden of treatments, we are empowering all of the patients, families and communities infertility affects. We are grateful for the strong support of our partners across the Jewish community.” One in eight couples in the United States reports having trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy and nearly
12% of women have received infertility services in their lifetime. The letter asks members of Congress to support a bipartisan, Hadassah-backed resolution sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX). Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have co-sponsored this resolution with
MIYA’S LEGACY Miya Must attended CranbrookKingswood School and graduated from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School. She struggled with mental health problems from an early age, said her younger sister, Kacee
