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A luncheon tribute honors
Lloyd Averbach's
60 years at the JCC.

Lloyd Averbach celebrates with
friend Ruth Hirsh field and son-
in-law Alan Goldsmith.

CARL WALDMAN
Special to the Jewish News

I

f dedication had a middle
name, then it could be Lloyd
Averbach's.
Inside the fitness center at
the Jimmy Prentis Morris building
of the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit stands a spirit-
ed 85-year-old man. He has been an
employee of the JCC for more than
60 years.
Dressed in a sporty, jade-colored
polo shirt with the JCC logo, not
looking or acting a day over 70,
Averbach's face is a familiar one to
nearly all of the members.
Passing kibbitzers call him "Lloyds
of London," while Center members
like Patricia Bernstein of Oak Park
declare, "He is just the best. He's
always helpful, with a friendly smile."

Averbach, born and raised in
Detroit, first became a member of the
Jewish Center in 1930, when it was
on Woodward Avenue. At 18, after
graduating from neighboring
Northern High School, Lloyd went on
to become a member of the Center
staff.
"I did everything, from supervise
the gym to referee basketball leagues,
umpire baseball games, and work at
the gym desk," he says of his 60 years
at the JCC.
When the building moved to
Curtis and Meyers in Detroit, and
then JPM opened in Oak Park in
1955, Lloyd followed, moving his
family to Southfield. Working during
the day as a warehouse supervisor for
an auto parts company, he worked at
the Center in the evenings and on
weekends to help put his daughters
through college.

With his wife Rose, and two
daughters, Barbara and Fran, Lloyd
kept up the dual job pace for 32 years.
When Rose died 14 years ago, he
moved to an apartment in Farmington
Hills, but continued his familiar route
to work at the JCC in Oak Park.
"He has always been sports-mind-
ed, so the Jewish Center has kept him
in touch and kept his life active," says
daughter Barbara Meyers. "I don't
remember a part of our lives when the
Jewish Community Center wasn't in
it," says daughter Fran Goldsmith.
Now, he works 35 hours a week
over five days as an attendant in the
health club. "My back hurts a little
bit," Averbach says, "but working
keeps my mind exercised."
To honor Lloyd's 60 years of service
and dedication, the JPM JCC held an
anniversary party for Averbach on
April 11 in Jaffe Hall. Leslee

Magidson, managing director at JPM,
and Laurie Kimsal, health club direc-
tor, organized the special day, and
asked Averbach to invite his family,
friends and his choice of JCC mem-
bers.
Sixty people gathered to honor
Averbach at a kosher, catered lun-
cheon. Former JPM staff and friends
shared their special memories of
Averbach.
"We are so honored to have some-
one on the staff who has given such a
commitment to the Jewish
Community Center," says Leslie Bash,
associate executive director of the
JCC. Adds Magidson, "It was the ulti-
mate compliment to see how many
people from our community came to
honor Lloyd."
Averbach says, "It felt good to be
recognized, as I have been devoted to
this community for a long time." 0

5/12
2000