Friday, July 17, 1970-5
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Meyer Prentis, Financial Whiz of GM 84
,
Meyer L. Prentis, treasurer of
General Motors Corp. for 32 years,
_ died Wednesday morning, on his
84th birthday.
Services for Mr. Prentis were
held Thursday afternoon at Temple
Beth El, with interment at Clover
Hill Memorial Park.
Mr. Prentis, who had been ail-
ing for some time, died at his
home, 1905 Balmoral.
Surviving are his wife, the for-
mer Anna Steinberg; four daugh-
ters, Mrs. Lawrence M. Lande of
Montreal, Mrs. Lester J. Morris,
Mrs. Marvin A. Frenkel and Mrs.
Beverly Prentis Straus; a sister,
Mrs. Leon Dewoskin of St. Louis;
nine grandchildren and one great-
grandchild.
Mr. Prentis retired from GM in
1951, after 40 years of pioneering
service with the corporation.
One of Mr. Prentis' major
activities during those years was
acting as the corporation's prin-
cipal representative in its rela-
tions with the banks. He became
well known to bankers in every
section of the United States and
Canada. His experience in this
field led him to originate and
institute new methods and prac-
tices which have helped guide
GM in its use of the banking
facilities of the country.
(The corporation and its subsidi-
aries have accounts in more than
600 banks in the United States, of
which the parent company has ac-
counts in 350).
Mr. Prentis' early youth was
spent in St. Louis and after com-
pleting his education there, he be-
came associated with. the Laclede
Gas Light Co., from 1904 to 1911
in various accounting capacities.
Weizmann Institute
Hosts Foreign Teens at
Summer Science Event
REHOVOT — The second inter-
national Summer Science Institute,
bringing together teen-age science
enthusiasts from six countries has
opened at the Weizmann Institute
here.
The 65 youngsters from Britain,
Canada, Holland, Sweden, Switzer-
land and the United States taking
part in the institute were chosen
on the basis of scholastic excel-
lence from among hundreds of ap-
plicants.
The young researchers are di-
vided into groups specializing re-
spectively in biology, physics,
chemistry and mathematics, with
a heavy emphasis on practical ex-
perimentation. The mathematics
group, for instance, will learn the
special language of computers and
then "speak" to the Weizmann In-
stitute designed-and-built GOLEM
computers in that language.
Sixty-five Israeli youngsters are
participating in a parallel He-
brew-language program. Young
people from both groups will come
together for swimming, sports and
folk dancing.
With the end of the institute
program, the visitors from over-
seas will tour Israel, work in ki-
butzim and take part in special
field studies. One team will study
the principles of aeronautics at a
technical school; another will
probe biological and botanical
problems of the Dead Sea area
at the Ein Gedi Field School; a
third team will participate in the
archeological excavations near the
Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, more than 100 out-
standing science majors from uni-
versities in Israel and seven other
countries are spending the sum-
mer in the laboratories of the
Weizmann Institute.
Many of the 55 foreign students
are considering ultimate settle,
ment in the country, and so spe-
cial efforts are being made to
acquaint them with opportunities
for study and employment in Is-
rael.
Adoption or supervised care is
arranged for needy and neglected
children through the Children's
Aid Society, a Torch Drive service.
the depression. He also was a
member of Bloomfield Hills
Country Club, Palm Beach Coun-
try Club, the Recess Club and
Great Lakes Club. He was a
32nd degree Mason and Shriner.
As a trustee of Temple Beth El,
he led the drive to pay off the
mortgage on the Woodward Ave.
temple. He was active with the
Jewish and Allied Jewish Cam-
paign, Welfare Federation, was
elected to the society of honor, Re-
form Jewish Appeal, in 1970; was
a founder of the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine; and was on
the national executive committee
of the Joint Distribution Commit-
tee.
MEYER L. PRENTIS
He began his long career with
General Motors in August 1911,
when he moved to Detroit and be-
come chief accountant and auditor
for the corporation. He had been
with GM only five years when he
was named comptroller. In 1919,
eight years after joining GM, he
was elected treasurer.
During World War H Mr. Pren-
tis participated in the negotiation
of the General Motors $1,000,000,-
000 V-loan bank credit, which was
set up in October 1942, in connec-
tion with GM's war production.
This credit expired in May 1946
and was the largest line of credit
arranged for in connection with
the war production program.
He was a director of a num-
ber of General Motors subsidi-
aries in the United States and
Canada, including General Mo-
tors Acceptance Corp., Yellow
Manufacturing Acceptance Cor-
poration and General Motors of
Canada, Ltd. He served continu-
ously since 1929 on the board of
regents of the General Motors
Institute.
Alfred P. Sloan, in his book "My
Years With General Motors," paid
particular tribute to Mr. Prentis'
efforts on behalf of the corpora-
tion during its crucial years. He
organized and served for a short
period as president of the National
Bank of Detroit during the bank
holiday. He was president emeri-
tus of Citizens Research Council
of Michigan.
An organizer of the United
Foundation and former chairman
of its goal and allocations commit-
tee, he served on the advisory
board of the United Foundation.
The Meyer and Anna Prentis
Building, school of business admin-
istration at Wayne State Univer-
sity, was named in his honor be-
cause of Prentis' efforts as a mem-
ber of the Businessmen's Advisory
Committee of WSU, which led to
the creation of the school of busi-
ness administration 25 years ago.
Dedication of the building took
place on the occasion of the Pren-
tis' 51st wedding anniversary.
A great golf enthusiast, he
rescued Franklin Hills Country
Club from financial ruin during
Community Acts
on M. E. Crisis
(Continued from Page I)
for a brief visit Tuesday, express-
ed Israel's thanks for Michigan
Jewry's support and expressed the
hope that American public opinion
will be strengthened in defense of
the democratic position in the Mid-
dle East.
The Detroit Jewish Community
Council has requested all member
organizations not only to express
their personal views to the Presi-
dent and their congressmen but
also to use their resources to alert
the general community to the shift
in strategic events in the area.
The Rabbinical Commission of
the Council, which a few weeks ago
took part in a trifaith dialogue on
the Middle East under the auspices
of the Round Table of Christians
and Jews, will be active in this
new educational effort.
Background information on the
new Soviet threat in the Middle
East is available at the Council
offices.
85 American Families Go En Masse to Israel
NEW YORK (JTA)—More than aliya during the month of July
360 persons left July 7 to settle in alone.
Israel.
Our present forecast for August
According to Col. Nachum Go- is even larger.
lan, director of the Israel Aliya
With such favorable results we
Center here, the group included are confident that we will surpass
85 families consisting of 331 mem- the 1969 record with a notable in-
bers and 32 individuals.
crease." A new Israel aliya cen-
"The trend of family members ter opened in St. Louis.
outnumbering single people which
was started in 1969 is not only
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with purchase option
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An occupational breakdown of
689-3030
342-7800
the 360 persons revealed 61 pro-
fessionals, 19 businessmen a'nd 18
skilled and semi-skilled workers.
"The people," continued Col.
Golan, "are part of more than
1,200 people who will be going on
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