Generation
The Dorfmans' first funeral chapel opens in Farmington Hills.
DAVID SACHS Copy Editor
KRISTA HUSA Staff Photographer
Opposite page:
Jonathan and
Alan Dorfman
open up their
new funeral
chapel.
This page, clockwise:
A wall of stained glass forms a backdrop
for the services.
Design consultant Phyllis Canvasser cre-
ated the look of the chapel's family room.
The Dorfman Chapel provides a covered
canopy at the entrance.
Chapel architect Larry Rockind and wife
Gladys attend the reception.
Bloomfield chose subtle cream or taupe colors for
the interior, upholstery and floor coverings to
complement the burgundy-shaded cherry wood
accents used throughout the building. Jewish-
themed paintings from the Danielle Peleg Art
Gallery in West Bloomfield are displayed
throughout the building.
On one side of the stained glass wall is a large
family room, furnished with plush couches and
chairs. From there, a door opens to a private gar-
den area that runs behind the stained glass wall to
the clergy room on the opposite side. Family
members can use the courtyard area to seek soli-
tude or consult with clergy.
New Locale
The last local Jewish funeral chapel built, the cur-
rent Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak Park, was
completed in 1964, while Ira Kaufman Chapel's
current Southfield location was built in 1960.
Alan Dorfman worked for Hebrew Memorial
more than 20 years before starting out on his
own in 1991. At the time he attempted to
build a chapel in West Bloomfield, but was
thwarted by an anti-development trend in the
township, he said.
But Alan gave up and opened a small, ceme-
tery service-only operation with his son. Jonathan
then labored eight years to fulfill his father's
dream — to find a site and bring the new
Dorfman Chapel to reality.
"There's a need for this type of facility,"
Jonathan said. "The main factor was demograph-
ically to have a central location. To give people an
option. We can now do it in probably one of the
nicest facilities in the country."
The parking lot surrounds the chapel, for clos-
er access, and a large staging area for processions
is in front. In advocating graveside services over
the years, the Doifinans have warned of the traf-
fic dangers of funeral processions. Now with a
chapel, but farther from many cemeteries, Alan
Dorfman says he will discourage processions, but
will give the families a choice. He suggests that
people convene independently at the cemetery
instead of driving in a procession.
Among the speakers at the dedication was
Rabbi David Nelson of Congregation Beth
Shalom. "I'm very touched when I see a father
and son work so close together," he said. "It
shows such a beautiful bond and I've admired
that from the very onset."
"When I became a mortician," said Alan, "it
was my dream, my dream to do this. And, of
course, some day to have my son involved. It's
wonderful."
Said Jonathan, "This has been his dream and
now he's got it. He always jokes that it's for
me, but from my standpoint, this is for him,
for all the work he's put into it over the years.
And he deserves it. It's my future and his
dream. It's good for both of us. And it's good
for the community." ❑
Related editorial: page 31