Generation
F
rtAY.
2/9
2001
14
or the father, age 62, it was the cul-
mination of a professional dream,
pursued over a 35-year career. For
the son, 31, it was a glimpse into a
bright new future.
The Dorfman Chapel, the Detroit Jewish
community's first new funeral venue in 37
years, was dedicated at a reception Tuesday
evening, Feb. 6 — and put into use with a
funeral service the next day.
The milestone marks the entry of the father-
son duo of Alan and Jonathan Dorfman into the
full-option funeral business, offering chapel 'serv-
ices in addition to the graveside rites for which
they have become known over the past 10 years.
Their plush, $4.5 million Farmington Hills
chapel, at 30440 12 Mile Road, a quarter-mile
east of Orchard Lake Road, is situated at the
demographic center of the Jewish community,
they say.
"This is beyond my expectations," said
founder Alan Dorfman. "The whole building
is unbelievable."
The Doifinans have increased their space more
than 15-fold, from a cramped, 850-square-foot
storefront eight miles east on 12 Mile in Berkley
to a state-of-the-art, 13,000-square-foot sprawl
on a 3-acre landscaped site.
The new brick-and-limestone building has
hints of a modern Old City Jerusalem look on
the outside — with use of arches, paving stones
and a stone canopy over the driveway to protect
the pallbearers from the elements.
Jerusalem Look
Architect Larry Michael Rockind of Keego
Harbor, who designed Adat Shalom Synagogue
28 years ago, continued the arched-ceiling con-
cept from the entrance, through the lobby and
into the chapel itself
The focus of the chapel is a large, stained glass
wall at the front of the room. The multicolored
religious-Chemed window depicts the Tree of Life
with different-hued panels portraying the four
seasons and the circularity of life. The green,
blue, yellow and rust-colored glass represents the
passage of time, yearly, and over a lifetime. The
words, "The Soul of Man is the Lamp of the
Lord" are inscribed on the window
Solid maple pews with taupe-colored seat and
back cushions provide about 450 seats in the
chapel. Twelve skylights, representing the 12
Tribes of Israel, beam around the arched ceiling,
which appears suspended to present a heaven-like
feel, says Jonathan.
Glass-paneled cherry wood doors provide over-
flow funeral attendees a view of the services while
listening on lobby speakers.
Many visitors at the reception preview corn-
mented that the chapel had the warmth of a syn-
agogue, rather than a funeral chapel:
"It looks like a synagogue," said Carole Walker
of Commerce Township, a friend of the Doifinan
family. "The design gives people a very serene
and peaceful feeling when they come in here."
• Design consultant Phyllis Canvasser of West