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NEW GROUND from page 10

When he started, Dorfman attempted to build a
chapel in West Bloomfield, but was thwarted by anti-
development forces, he said. Circumstances forced him
to become innovative. Having no chapel, he focused
on offering graveside funerals, promoting them as a
lower-priced alternative to conventional services.
His son Jonathan Dorfman, 30, also a licensed
funeral director, holds a master's in psychology and
has served as a grief counselor and bereavement sup-
port group facilitator. He has been with his father
since the beginning, and spearheaded the search for
a new chapel site over the past seven years.
Although the family's business has flourished, per-
forming graveside services and funerals at cemetery
chapels and occasionally synagogues, some 70 per-
cent of families still desire a chapel service, accord-
ing to the younger Dorfman.
"There's many times that graveside services are

Jewish population in metropolitan Detroit. The city
government has been very cooperative, he added.
The Dorfmans believe clients will prefer the con-
venience of their new location, saying that 50-75
percent of those attending chapel services typically
will not go on to the cemetery interment. The
Dorfman chapel, while more centrally located to
mourners, will be farther from all but the Livonia
and Novi Jewish cemeteries, forcing automobile pro-
cessions to travel greater distances.
In promoting graveside funerals over the years,
the Dorfman have warned of the risks of automo-
bile accidents during processions. They still are wary
of the custom. The point of the new chapel, they
say, is to offer their clients a choice. Those wanting
processions can still have them.
But that doesn't mean the Dorfmans will stop
coming up with innovative ideas. They will suggest

little private area where they can relax.
"The area behind the casket is going to be stained
glass," he said. "You're going to get a spiritual feel
when you're sitting in the chapel.
"Everything's all cherry wood in the facility," he
added. "All the pews will have upholstered seats and
backs, so it's more like a piece of furniture."
When fully expanded, the chapel will seat 500,
which Jonathan Dorfman says will be the largest
capacity of the three Jewish chapels. The main
entrance will have a large overhang where the family
and the hearse will be protected from the elements.
Speaking at the groundbreaking were Rabbi
Emeritus M. Robert Syme and Rabbi Joshua Bennett of
Temple Israel and Rabbi David Nelson of Congregation
Beth Shalom. Rabbi Nelson also - read a message from
Rabbi Irwin Groner of Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Councilman Jerry Ellis, mayor pro-tem of

From lefi-• Posing at the groundbreaking are Alan and Jonathan Dorfman. Artist's drawing of the new Dorfman Funeral Chapel, scheduled to open in October.
Israel Rabbis Joshua Bennett and M. Robert Syme spoke at the groundbreaking. Cantor Harold Orbach of Temple Israel sings at the ceremony.

dignified and very appropriate," he said. "There's also
times when I don't think they are. When you have an
extremely young person with a large service, especial-
ly if it's raining, it's tough to have a graveside service.
"The key is to make it easier on the family," said
Jonathan Dorfman. "We're definitely not changing
our philosophy. We're still going to do the gravesides
at a lower cost, but if people want a chapel, we're
giving them that option."
Added Alan Dorfman, "We're giving them a
beautiful new facility in a newer area."

Convenience For Mourners

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Location was always a key factor in where they chose to
build. Jonathan Doifinan said demographic studies
pointed to Farmington Hills as the current center of

that mourners drive independently to cemeteries,
instead of in a procession. They cited the conve-
nience to their chapel of I-696, a half-mile away.

Warm And Dignified

Architect Larry Rockind of Keego Harbor, who has
worked on synagogues in the past, designed the
funeral chapel, his first. "You had to design a build-
ing that nobody wants to be in," he said. "It's a
mitzvah." The architect said he worked closely with
Jonathan Dorfman, who offered many ideas.
According to Jonathan, the intention was to pro-
vide a beautiful, warm, dignified setting for the
grieving families.
"We will have a very large family room," he said,
"and off of that a garden, where families will have a

Temple

Farmington Hills, and U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg
(R-Bloomfield Hills) offered congratulations.
Temple Israel Cantor Harold Orbach and cantorial
soloist Marci Shulman performed.
Detroit is bucking the nationwide trend on corpo-
rate ownership of large groups of funeral homes. All
three Jewish chapels are locally owned and operated.
Ira Kaufman Chapel handles about 575 funerals a
year; Hebrew Memorial Chapel handles about 425.
Jonathan Dorfman says that his firm, the smallest of
the three, now conducts about 175 funerals yearly.
With the expansion, the Dorfmans say they will be
hiring a third funeral director and other staff
When Alan Dorfman started out nine years ago,
he was surprised by the amount of business he did
right from the start. But with the new chapel?
"I think it's going to take off," he said. El

