Obituaries are updated regularly and archived on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.corn

Young, By All Accounts

DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant

S

eymour Kraus, an attorney
and certified public accoun-
tant who continued serving
clients well into his 80s,
always maintained a young outlook.
"He never thought of himself as
becoming old," said Rabbi Joseph
Klein of Temple Emanu-El, where Mr.
Kraus was a regular at the Saturday
Torah study group. "He
thought of himself as a young
person. He liked to hear
),
new ideas.
Mr. Kraus, who died
Aug. 12 at age 84, didn't
understand the word
`retire,' said his daughter,
Myra Stone. He was a
man of strong intellectual
and athletic ability, with an
unassuming, dry wit, she said.
"He would say, 'When I was 18,
my mother told me I was smart and
I was dumb enough to believe her!"'
Born in Chicago Heights, Ill., Mr.
Kraus became a high school track star
in Los Angeles. He also won 30 tro-
phies as an adult novice tennis player.
Among his other pursuits were camp-
ing, chess and reading historical nov-
els.
Mr. Kraus enjoyed sharing his
interests with his children. He would
enter father-daughter tennis tourna-
ments with daughter Sandra Spekman,
for example, and battle Stone in chess.
"He had a joy of living and being with
his family," said Spekman.
Mr. Kraus first came to the Detroit
area as an employee of the Internal
Revenue Service prior to World War
II. He met his wife, Rosalyn, at the
Jewish Center and married her before
leaving for service in the Army Air
Corps. He was a staff sergeant in
Honolulu, where he was asked to uti-
lize his accounting skills.
While in Hawaii he learned to
dance the hula. In later years he would
perform the dance, in a grass skirt, at
events of many Jewish organizations.
His wife provided the piano accompa-
niment.
The Krauses moved to Chicago
after the war, but soon returned to
Detroit. "He loved the warmth of the
Detroit Jewish community," explained
Stone. "He felt the Los Angeles and
Chicago communities were too splin-
tered."

8/20
1999

150 Detroit Jewish News

After becoming a CPA in the
1950s, Mr. Kraus entered private prac-
tice. He operated with a sense of fair-
ness and honesty," said Stone. "After
he left the IRS, people he had audited
respected him so much they hired him
as their accountant."
His grasp of the subject matter was
amazing, said Stone. "He would read
the Internal Revenue Code like a
novel," she said. At age 42,
still looking for more
challenges and to
enhance his
career, Mr.
Kraus entered
the Detroit
College of
Law as a
_part-time
night student
and became an
attorney 10
years later. For
the last 32 years, he
practiced law as well as
accounting, specializing
Seymour
in estate and financial
Kraus
planning.
Mr. Kraus served as
past president of the Michigan
Association of Attorneys and CPAs,
the Southfield Rotary and the
Oakland Century Lodge of B'nai
B'rith. He and his wife were founding
members of Temple Israel and volun-
teered with Meals on Wheels. One of
her father's greatest loves, said Stone,
was teaching accounting at the Detroit
Institute of Technology.
He is survived by his son, Joel
Kraus of Oak Park; daughters and
sons-in-law, Myra and Richard Stone
of Ohio, Harriet Gersten of Oak Park,
Sandra and Hyman Spekman of South
Orange, N.J.; sister Jessica Kern of
Batavia, Ill.; grandchildren Shira and
Moishe Wax, Gabriel Gersten, Abigail
Gersten, Daniella Gersten, Neil Stone,
Julie Stone, Rachel Spekman, Jeremy
Spekman; great-grandchildren Rachel
Wax, Henya Wax; friend and compan-
ion Rolly Rodgers.
Mr. Kraus was the beloved husband
of the late Rosalyn Kraus.
Contributions may be made to
Kadima, 29431 Southfield, Suite 1,
Southfield, MI 48076 or Temple
Emanu-El Building Fund, 14450 W.
10 Mile Road, Oak Park, MI 48237.
Interment at Beth El Memorial Park.
Services and arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel. ❑

A Doctor Of The People

DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant

D

r. Meyer J. Elman, a
general practitioner
until age 85, was one of
the few individuals
lucky enough to live his dream.
He came to the U.S. from hum-
ble roots in Minsk, Russia, at age
17, not knowing the language, but
having the dream of becoming a
doctor.
Twelve years later he fulfilled his
dream and built a family practice
on Hancock and Cass near Wayne
State University. He treated local
residents and students for over 40
years. To the thousands of corn-
mon people he treated over his
career as a family physician, Dr.
Elman was their dream come true.
He would see patients for a flat
fee, often $5 or $10. Dr. Elman
died Aug. 10 at age 94.
"He was an old-fashioned doc-
tor from the old school," said his
daughter, Susan Ulintz. "He was
known for his kindness and com-
passion, which included making
house calls as part of his
daily routine."
He gave up his pri-
vate practice at age
67, in 1971, and
tried retirement,
but when you're
living your dream,
why retire? Dr.
Elman went on to
care for patients
for another 18

years.

In his first "retire-
ment" career move, Dr.
Elman, a lieutenant-colonel
in the Army Medical Corp in
India during World War II,
became a physician at the Veteran's
Administration Hospital in Allen
Park.
"He was so proud of being in
the service and helping the veter-
ans," said Pam Broase, a caregiver
he confided in at Trowbridge
Apartments.
"He thought he was paying back
some. He thought it was so great
to come over to this country and
get the opportunity that he got." -
But Dr. Elman was only getting
started. In 1976, at age 72, he

began a 13-year stint as medical
director of the Arnold Home in
northwest Detroit, a large assisted-
living and skilled care facility.
Although older than many of the
residents there, Dr. Elman worked
every day, and was meticulous in
his care for his patients. He super- c/\
vised two doctors as well.
"He wanted to be active as long
as he could, and to serve humani-
ty," said his son, Alan Elman. "He
was conscious about living his life
well."
Mary Cobello, director of
admissions and marketing at the
Arnold Home, described the doc-
tor as "very compassionate,
thoughtful and serious. He was
dedicated to the profession."
Ulintz added that "he was very
unpretentious and soft-spoken."
She said her father, who was the
first doctor in the family, inspired
several nephews to become doc-
tors, too.
Said Alan Elman: "He did so
much for so many people.
Dr. Elman was on the staff of
Hutzel Hospital and was a
member of the Wayne
County Medical
Society and
Adat Shalom
Synagogue.
He is sur-
vived by his
sons, Alan
Elman of
Oak Park
and Michael
Elman of
Southfield;
daughter, Susan
Ulintz of New
York; brother and sis-
ter-in-law Julius and
Dr. Meyer Beatrice Feigelman of
Elman
Southfield; grandson
Jordan.
He was the loving husband of
the late Minnie Weiss Elman and
also the late Anne Farbman Elman.
Contributions may be made to
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, P.O. Box
2044, Southfield, MI 48037; or
the Wayne County Medical Society
Foundation in Detroit.
Interment at Adat Shalom
Memorial Park. Services and
arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel. 1-1

3)