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Physician Overcame MS

DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant

M

y father knew how to
celebrate life," said
Lynne Obron. "He
never focused on his
disabilities. He never complained."
Dr. Gerald Benaderet, a Bloomfield
Hills physical medicine and rehabilita-
tion specialist, died June 16 at age 66.
He courageously struggled 37 years
with multiple sclerosis (MS) and more
recently with a cancer, multiple myelo-
ma. Despite being progressively crip-
pled by MS, he built a thriving med-
ical practice and raised two children
V ho followed him into medicine.
"He thoroughly enjoyed his life and
work," said his daughter, a physical
therapist. "Every day he did it with
such enthusiasm and spirit."
Said his son Steven Benaderet, a
medical student, He gave me a great
philosophy of life — how to take a
moment and really enjoy it and keep it
a memory He set an example for his
kids to always strive to do the best we
could do in life."
Growing up in Detroit, Dr.

Benaderet
excelled in athlet-
ics. He earned a
pharmacy degree
from Wayne
University and
became a doctor
of osteopathic
Dr. Gerald Benaderet
medicine, attend-
ing schools in
Des Moines,'Iowa, and Chicago.
He was in general practice when
diagnosed with MS at age 30. For the
next 12 years, as the effects of his dis-
ease progressed, he was in a general
and weight-control practice at the
Kenwood Medical Center in Detroit.
In the early 1970s he completed a resi-
dency in physical medicine and found-
ed Tri-County Associates of Medicine
in Southfield, providing independent
medical examinations.
"I feel blessed for our 31-year mar-
riage and for his philosophy," said his
wife, Dede Benaderet. "I loved him.
We had a wonderful marriage. We
were best friends.
"He would never get frustrated with
little things. 'It could always be worse,'
he would say. I became a more mellow

A Long, Rappy Life

DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant

S

ylvan "Rappy" Rapaport
enjoyed life and his family.
He was a kind of Renaissance
man with wide-ranging inter-
ests, from symphony and opera to
photography, ham radio, sailing,
University of Michigan sports, elec-
tronic gadgetry and travel.
On his 90th birthday, he told a joke
that concluded with the lament, "Oh,
to be 75 again." He was able to smile
about the passing of years, never
expecting to live so long.
Mr. Rapaport, a retired Southfield
attorney, died June 19 at age 92.
Despite the economic depression of
the 1930s, Mr. Rapaport's high honors
and law review experience at U-M
helped secure a job and eventual part-
nership with the corporate law firm of
Friedman, Meyers & Keys. One of his
clients was Borman Foods and when
the law firm dissolved, he became gen-

6/25
1999

150 Detroit Jewish News

eral counsel for
the supermarket
chain. He retired
at age 80, help-
ing steer Borman
in its merger
with A&P.
His daughter, Sylvan Rapaport
Ida Glass of Oak
Park, recalls her father as "a very honest
person, very ethical." His 56-year mar-
riage to the late Hinde Goldstein was
described as "a wonderful and true love
affair." His companion Sylvia Baer has
shared his life in recent years.
Mr. Rapaport's parents were owners
of a clothing store in Lansing whose
slogan was "Dress Snappy, See Rappy,"
hence the nickname. He maintained a
dapper style, wearing a houndstooth
sports jacket even in 90-degree weather.
"He, in many ways, was the last of
his generation," said Rabbi Harold S.
Loss of Temple Israel, where Mr.
Rapaport was a charter member.
Mr. Rapaport was active in Pisgah

person. I respected him. He set an
example. He always tried his hardest."
His partner at Tri-County, adminis-
trator Bonnie Gaiera, worked with Dr.
Benaderet since 1978. "His most over-
riding feature was his very quiet sense
of humor, she said. Humor is what
kept him going."
When illness forced him to retire in
1991, he kept active reading, learning
the computer and enjoying his family.
Rabbi Joshua L. Bennett of Temple
Israel said Dr. Benaderet was a man of
grace, love and dignity "He lived his
life according to the definition of his
own last name — Benaderet — son of
a good person. He himself took that
legacy on and passed it to his family
with the kindness of his soul."
Dr. Benaderet is also survived by his
son-in-law, Dr. Jeffrey Obron of
Bloomfield Hills; mother Yetta
Benaderet; grandchildren Elyse and
Jacob Obron; brother and sister-in-law
Sol and Rhoda Benaderet; sister Shirley
Nachman.
Dr. Benaderet was the father of the
late Brian David Benaderet and the son
of the late Morris Benaderet.
Contributions may be made the
Multiple Sclerosis Society. Interment at
Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Arrange-
ments by the Ira Kaufinan Chapel.

Lodge of B'nai B'rith, the Standard
Club and the Great Lakes Yacht Club
and was a Boy Scout leader. He lived
by and taught good moral and social
values, say his daughters.
Rabbi Loss described him as "a gen-
tleman and a wonderful father, grand-
father, husband and friend" and "a
truly unique and loving man."
He was a man who told his chil-
dren that he simply wanted in life
three happy daughters," said Rabbi
Loss, "That's a beautiful thing for any
of us as a parent to tell our children."
Mr. Rapaport is also survived by his
daughters and sons-in-law, Ida and
Henry Glass of Oak Park, Susan King
of Lake Worth, Fla., Mary and Alan
Phillpotts of Leominster, Mass; grand-
children Sharon and Michael Fishman,
David and Laurie Glass, Steven Glass,
Michael King, Catherine and Edward
Haubenstricker, Shari King, Anna and
Robert Kinney, Richard Klein, Gabri-
elle Klein; seven great-grandchildren.
Interment at Machpelah Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to a chari-
ty of one's choice. Arrangements by the
Ira Kaufman Chapel. E

PHYLLIS ATTIS, 74, former
Detroiter of Sunrise, Fla., died June
21.
She is survived by her husband,
Jack Attis; daughters and son-in-law
Lyn Friedman, Bonnie and Jim
Hernan; sister Lillian Gallant; sister-
in-law Jean Begelfer; granddaughter
Emily Friedman.

ABRAHAM BASSIN, 85, of Royal
Oak, died June 21.
He is survived by his wife Dessie
Bassin; son and daughter-in-law
Michael and Sonia Bassin of Royal
Oak; daughters and sons-in-law
Alice and James Hopper of
Westlake, Ohio, Betty and Thomas
McWilliams of Ontario; brothers
and sisters-in-law Alex and Ann
Bassin of Tallahassee, Fla., James
and Sylvia Bassin of New York City, c--/
Samuel and Gertrude Bassin of
Dumont, N.J.; 13 grandchildren,
three great-grandchildren.
Mr. Bassin was the beloved hus-
band of the late Sandra Bassin.
Chapel services and interment at
the Woodmere Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to the
William Beaumont Hospital Heart
Fund or to the American Diabetes
Association, 30600 Telegraph Rd.
#2255, Bingham Farms, MI 48025.
Arrangements by Dorfman Funeral
Direction.

EDITH PEARL BLACK, 70, a
Windsor native of Rancho Mirage,
Calif., died June 13. She was a regis-
tered nurse trained at Providence
Hospital.
She is survived by her sons, Dr.
Kenneth Gerenraich of Seal Beach,
Calif., Robert Gerenraich of Palm
Springs, Calif., Howard Gerenraich
of Farmington Hills; brothers Bill
Pearl of Windsor, Morris Pearl of
Delray Beach, Fla., Dr. Jack Pearl of
West Bloomfield; sisters Blanche
Van Dow of Beechurst, N.Y.,
Florence Lechner of Pembroke
Pines, Fla.; grandchildren Andrew
and Lauren E. Gerenraich.
She was the wife of the late Dr.
Morton S. Gerenraich.
Interment in Long Beach, Calif.

ELSIE BLOCK, 87, of West
Bloomfield, died June 22.
She is survived by her son and
daughter-in-law, Norman and
Sharon Block of Bloomfield Hills;
daughters and sons-in-law Eileen
and Samuel Millstone of
Farmington Hills, Judith and