FOREVER OURS
AMBASSADOR DAVID B. HERMELIN, 1936-2000
THE JEWISH PIED PIPER
KERI GUTEN COHEN
Story Development Editor
V
oices were hushed as Jewish
professionals and staff at the
Max M. Fisher Federation
Building gathered Nov. 22, for
a brief memorial to David Hermelin.
After a moment of silence, Penny
Blumenstein, president of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
spoke a few quiet words, telling the
group what they already knew: "We
were so lucky to have had David as
part of our community."
Every Jewish agency represented in
that room — and, by implication, all
of us in the Jewish community —
have been touched by Hermelin's
magic in a lasting way. Hermelin was a
mentor, dreamer, catalyst and fund-
raiser extraordinaire for the Jewish
community he loved so dearly.
Blumenstein, a childhood friend of
both David and Doreen Hermelin
from their Dexter-Davison days in
Detroit, arrived fresh from Detroit's
Henry Ford Hospital. She was there
with the family at David's bedside
when he died peacefully around 5 a.m.
that morning.
"He died like he lived — surround-
ed by a crowd," she said, with a smile.
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Then they'd say they just
spoke to him, to let you
know they'd been in touch
with him.
"With David, all will feel
the loss as if it were their
loss, too — and it is."
Both Blumenstein and
Aronson turned to
Hermelin when they need-
ed advice or help with a
problem.
"He was the ultimate
consensus builder,"
Aronson said. "Any time we
had conflict in the commu-
nity, David was the ulti-
mate arbiter. He was the
guy we went to."
Blumenstein said, "When
I became Federation presi-
dent, I called him for
advice in Norway. I'd ask,
`What's your opinion on
this?' He'd take an issue
and give you a creative
solution."
Aronson agreed. "What
he brought to every con-
versation was how to put
conflict behind you and
how to move forward.
People sought him out to
resolve issues. He could
deal with the smallest detail
or the biggest concept, all
in a short period of time."
a series of songs for President Clinton
when our Federation delegation went
to Washington. I had to be in the cho-
rus," Blumenstein recalled, smiling at
the memory.
When asked whether Doreen
Hermelin would champion her hus-
band's causes, Blumenstein didn't hesi-
tate to describeher childhood friend as
"a pillar of strength in her own right."
"She's already doing it, and she'll
continue to take a leading role. A per-
son of David's renown could be over-
shadowing, but they were true partners
for 42 years. Each would go in their
own direction, but they would sit and
coordinate calendars and discuss what
roles they wanted to play,"
Blumenstein said.
"For a person of small stature, David
became a giant in this world. But
Doreen is special in her own right."
Personal Grief
Federation's Aronson
and Blumenstein
remember Hermelin's
leadership and
magic spell over this
community.
Composed, but teary, Blumenstein
took a chair in Federation CEO
Robert Aronson's office and began
The Jewish Pied Piper
swapping Hermelin memories and sto-
ries with Aronson.
Hermelin was a catalyst
The more they talked, the better
for many ideas and pro-
they felt. Hermelin was still working
grams through
his magic.
Federation — the
"David was a real participant in life
Millennium Campaign
in every way," Aronson said. "He
for Detroit's Jewish
crammed more into 63 years than any- Future, educational ini-
one could.
tiatives, the first highly successful
"It's right to list his accomplishments Miracle Mission that he and
and charitable acts, but there's another _Doreen led along with Jane
aspect — the nature of the man.
Sherman in 1993.
"He had a capacity I have never seen
"Once he put his mark on some-
in anybody to make every person he
thing, people followed," Aronson said.
touched feel they were the most special "As Rabbi Irwin Groner put it, David
people — to David. I'd go with him to was a Pied Piper."
breakfast, and there would be a line of
Hermelin's zest for living and his
people who wanted to make contact.
sense of giving back was contagious,
All felt he was their special friend,"
Aronson said.
Aronson said.
"People loved being asked for money
"I could be in Kiev, New York,
by David," he said. "They knew if he
Jerusalem or Livonia, and people
was asking, it would be good for them,
would ask, 'How is David doing?'
a mitzvah for the donor."
Sometimes, Blumenstein said, it was
"dangerous to be David's friend"
because rather than accepting an
honor from an organization, Hermelin
would convince others to be honored
instead.
He never turned anyone away,"
Aronson said. "He always found a way
to help."
But he also never took "no" for an
answer, no matter what he asked,
Blumenstein said.
"He got me to be the co-chair of the
Shaarey Zedek Purim carnival — it
was a huge undertaking. And he wrote
On a personal level, Blumenstein is
mourning a childhood friend while
Aronson has lost a friend made 11
years ago when he -moved here to head
the Federation.
"It's a terrible loss," Aronson said
quietly. "He was a friend and confi-
dant, a great adviser who helped me a
lot in this job that can sometimes be
very lonely. He was always — always
— there for me.
"I'm one of thousands touched by
him. And like them, I feel I had a spe-
cial relationship that's not diminished
by knowing others did, too. I feel very
blessed to have known him and
learned from him."
As she listens to Aronson, you can
tell Blumenstein's thoughts are drifting
back to the early-morning hours at the
hospital. Fighting back tears, she puts
it simply and eloquently: "A piece of
my heart is gone."
❑
Top to bottom: President Penny
Blumenstein honors David and Doreen
Hermelin at the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit/Millennium
Campaign for Detroit's Jewish Future
dinner in June 2000. David Hermelin
receives honors from Robert Aronson,
CEO of the Jewish Federation, at the
event.