FOREVER OURS
AMBASSADOR DAVID B. HERMELIN, 1936-2000
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
Business leaders recall
Hermelin's impact on their lives.
keting and the promotional end, and Bob was more
bricks and mortar. The building never could have
been built without them.
"As a team, they were disparate personalities that
meshed very well," said Wilson.
Hermelin was a member of the board of Arbor Drugs
ALAN ABRAMS
-president at one time," said Gerson. "Their friend-
Inc.
and a trusted and valued adviser to founder Eugene
Special to the Jewish News
ship grew because of their strong mutual interest in
Applebaum of Bloomfield Hills. But their relationship,
Israel," he added.
which began in the Russell Woods area of northwest
he face of Oakland County may not have
Gerson explained that both men believed the best
Detroit when both were pupils at Winterhalter
changed as dramatically and rapidly were it not
assistance they could provide for Israel would not be
Elementary
School, extended far beyond the boardroom.
for the foresight and vision of David Hermelin,
solely through charitable donations, but through eco-
"David
and
I had an extraordinary friendship that
says Oakland County Executive L.
nomic investment and creating opportunities.
began in kindergarten and grew stronger every year
Brooks Patterson. That's because Hermelin's
thereafter. He defined what a true friend is all about
pacesetting development of the Palace of
—
caring, giving and sharing. His devotion to his
Auburn Hills led the way for a migration of
Deeply Missed
family,
his loved ones and this community had no
business and residential construction to the
Davidson told the Jewish News, "David
boundaries,"
Applebaum said.
once rural northern reaches of the county.
Hermelin was a wonderful friend and part-
Southfield
businessman
Jay Alix will never forget
Ralph J. Gerson, executive vice president
ner. He made incredible contributions to our how he met Hermelin. "I called him in 1981, and
of Guardian Industries Corp. of Auburn
community, our country, and to world
asked if he would give me some career advice," Alix
Hills, recalls the early stages of planning for
Jewry. I will miss him dearly, and he will
said. "He told me to come over to his office and sat
an alternative to the Silverdome in Pontiac,
always be in my thoughts."
William
me down in his barber chair. But it wasn't only me. I
then home of the Detroit Pistons. Team
Said Patterson of Hermelin: "I was privi-
Davidson
know
he did the same for Buzz Silverman. There are
owner William Davidson of Bloomfield Hills
leged to know Mr. Hermelin. He was an
lots
of
business people out there who received their
needed someone who knew real estate, and
engaging, personable gentleman. Despite our first and best advice from David.
brought Hermelin into the picture because
differences in politics, he was always gentle-
"David was simply one of the most outstanding
of his reputation as a developer. Hermelin,
manly, and I enjoyed being in his company"
business
people I have ever known," Alix said. "He
in turn, brought friend and developer
"If you look back to when they decided to
was
my
teacher,
my mentor, my partner and my
Robert Sosnick of Bloomfield Hills into the
build The Palace," recalled Tom Wilson, pres-
friend in business. He was instrumental in helping
planning mix, and the result was the Palace
ident of Palace Sports and Entertainment, "a
me start and build my business. And he was one of
of Auburn Hills. Hermelin ultimately
lot of people said that it was folly. They said
the few to combine business success with success as a
became a minority owner of Palace Sports
we already had the new Joe Louis Arena
humanitarian and philanthropist."
and Entertainment and vice president of the
downtown, and no one had ever done any-
Hermelin long retained his interest in helping
Pistons-Palace Foundation.
Robert Sosnick thing like this privately. That's when David
youth
enter the business world. Former Detroiter
That relationship led to Hermelin and
Hermelin would say, 'Don't give up. We can
Randall
Kaplan, now one of the leading players in
Davidson working together in the creation of the
make it happen. I know they say it is impossible, but
the
dot.com
world of California, credited Hermelin
Phoenicia American-Israel Flat Glass Ltd. in Israel's cen-
I've pulled off impossible things before.' That would
as
being
a
role
model in his formative years.
tral Galilee — the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
get everybody excited again. To David, the impossible
Said Kaplan: "David was truly a remarkable
Detroit's designated Partnership 2000 region.
always seemed imminently doable."
human being and a role model in many ways. The
The business interests of Hermelin and Davidson
"David Hermelin and Bob Sosnick (who died earli- world was a vastly better place because of him — he
"grew out of a personal relationship, their mutual
er this year) served different roles in the creation of
did a tremendous amount of good for a tremendous
involvement at Shaarey Zedek, where both were
The Palace. David was involved in the selling, mar-
amount of people." ❑
I
MATTHEW from page 36
When I moved out of town, I could
no longer rely on seeing Uncle David
regularly. But no major decision in my
life could take place until it had the
OK from Uncle David. So, when I
would come back to town, I would
carefully prepare my summary as I
knew that I would only have a couple
of minutes to give him the rundown.
Regularly I would go for a drive with
him. This was often the best place to
get his attention, especially if the car
was moving, because then there was
less chance he would jump out and
Matthew Weinberg of Los Angeles
is a nephew of David Hermelin.
talk to someone else.
Carefully, I would relate where I was
and where I was going. Uncle David
would listen to every word without
interrupting, and then the magic
would start. In a moment, he could
distill and filter out all of the excess
noise, and the essence of my life, my
goals and my hopes would be revealed.
It never bothered me that in just a few
seconds his wisdom would provide me
with such truth — it just amazed me.
And on top of that, he did it without
passing judgment. Without ever
insulting me and my past decisions, he
would help me see the best path and
always make me believe that -it was
attainable.
In Judaism, a person is judged not
by his beliefs or his faith or his inten-
tions. We are judged by our actions.
Our actions define us and they are the
criteria by which God sees how we
have lived and carried out his mitzvot,
our bond with Him. Uncle David was
the definition of "action." He acted on
everything he felt to such an extent
that in God's kingdom he has surely
been accepted at the highest level.
In Yiskor, we are told that to honor
someone's memory we must do acts of
lovingkindness and charity in the per-
son's name. But I believe in this case,
this is not enough. There are many
that will come in the future, including
my own children, who will not have
had the distinct pleasure and experi-
ence of knowing Uncle David.
Certainly I will tell them the stories
and show them the videos, but will
that be enough
I feel that Uncle David's greatest
legacy is that he has taught us things
we would otherwise not have known.
So to honor him, we must implement
as much of that philosophy as we can
into our own lives. There is no need to
buy a fire engine, but why not rent one
to take your kids around the block or
to the circus? To give them the experi-
ence and gift that Uncle David has
been, we must incorporate a little bit of
him into our lives. We must give until
it feels good and laugh until it hurts.
I will miss him so much. But I know
that he will live in our hearts and our
actions forever.
?
•
❑