Mazel Toy!

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

■

M.V.* •••X:•-•-•

orothy Ginsberg
Harwood's phone number
hung on the bulletin
board above the phone at
Albert Mazer's bachelor condo in
Troy for a few months before he
called her for a date. They were mar-
ried five months later.
"When I finally took action, there
was no time to waste," said Mazer,
80, who was then 65. "We didn't
have time for long engagements."
Last month, the second-time-
around couple celebrated their 15th
wedding anniversary, taking their
families out to dinner, then going to
dinner on their own with a restaurant
gift certificate from their children.
"We realized back then that we
would never get to our 50th
anniversary, so we're making the
most out of every other anniversary
along the way,
explained the 77-
year-old Mrs.
Mazer. "I think
we're doing a pret-
ty good job so far."
In 1984,
Dorothy's daughter
Gail gave her
mother's phone
number to Albert's
daughter, Alisa.
The young women,
casual acquain-
tances, had decided
that their two sin-
gle parents were
lonely and were
perfect for each
other. It was time
for a shiduch
(match), the
daughters reasoned.
"The phone num-
ber just hung
there, and I would
look at it every
once in a while,"
Albert reflected.
"Then I just decid-
ed to call her, and
I'm sure glad I did."
On their first date, they went to
see some exhibits at Cranbrook.
Dorothy helped speed the process
along by sending Albert a birthday
card. "That really impressed me," he
recalled, "because it was the only
birthday card I got from anyone at
the time." He called her again when
he returned from a Florida vacation,

) 1

The Mazers have made
the most of 15 years together.

9/10
1999

70 Detroit Jewish News

and the dating escalated rapidly.
They were married Aug. 26, 1984 at
Congregation Beth Shalom.
Dorothy and Albert, who now
live in West Bloomfield, had become
single in their 60s. She was divorced
from a Ford Motor Company execu-
tive; Albert's wife, Beatrice Jaulus,
passed away. "I was alone for about a
year until I met Dorothy," said
Albert. "A year was long enough. It
really has been a perfect match."
In the past 15 years, I've made
up for lost time," echoed Dorothy.
"We're having a lot of fun; the 15th
anniversary is a real milestone."
Born in Poland, where most of
her family later died in the
Holocaust, Dorothy came to New
York in 1926 at age 5, then on to
the Detroit area at age 20. She got
married early and lived in Oak Park
and Southfield.
Albert was born in Philadelphia,
arriving in Detroit as a toddler. He
graduated from Central High School
in 1937 and had several jobs,
including selling shoes at his father's
store. Herman Mazer's Shoe Stores
were located downtown and on
Dexter Avenue, and were the "in"
places for Jewish youngsters to buy
shoes in the 1940s and 1950s.
Albert spent two years in the
Navy as a Seabee, then returned to
civilian life to work for the John R
Lumber Co. for 30 years, retiring as
general manager.
Dorothy and Albert each have
two daughters and a son from their
first marriages, and they have a total
of 11 grandchildren. "Our children
are wonderful and very attentive,"
he said. "Someone seems to be call-
ing us every 15 minutes."
She excels as an.amateur artist
and photographer, he golfs twice a
week, and they both belong to vari-
ous retiree organizations at the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
Dorothy also is proud of her
Shabbat afternoon study group,
which has existed for 38 years with
about 25 members from different
synagogues meetings in their homes.
The Mazers belong to Congregation
B'nai Moshe.
In the past 15 years, they have
traveled to Israel, Europe and
Canada, and they spend four
months each winter at a condo in
Palm Desert, Calif.
"The main thing is that we're
having fun," she said. "And we're
surviving," he added. El