r dIRINIIINIIIIIMIIIMEUR Id D Choose - 1VD ■ PAUL KOHN'S Obituaries are updated regularly and archived on JN Online: • ■ aDifference www.detroitjewishnews.com ■ to prepare Delivering On His Promise DAVID SACHS Southfield. Copy Editor Enterprises And Inventions T wo years ago, before being overwhelmed by his strug- gle with Alzheimer's dis- ease, entrepreneur and inventor Alvin Wasserman wrote a poem reflecting on his illustrious life. His thoughts: "A person asks, 'What is life?' I replied without hesitation, 'A race through time, in search of love. As this unbridled entrepreneur perceived it, love was broader than the kindness he bestowed upon his family and friends. It meant using his business genius for the betterment of the society, and it inspired the enter- prises he built and the creative inven- tions he dabbled in. Mr. Wasserman, of Bloomfield Hills, died March 9 at age 80. A founder of 24 businesses and a holder of eight patents, his intense energy was driven by a need to find a way to make things easier for people, said his son, Rodger. Mr. Wasserman's genius at break- ing complex business systems down to the tiniest elements inspired Allied Delivery Systems, a package delivery firm he founded in 1938, soon after graduating Central High School in Detroit. His first delivery vehicle was a $25 used hearse. He volunteered to serve in the Navy after Pearl Harbor, returning in 1945 to grow his business into the model for package delivery. Under 48 years of his ownership, it became an institution in Southeastern Michigan. When he sold the business in 1986, it had 150 trucks and 3,000 local cus- tomers, handling 20,000 packages a day. Mr. Wasserman looked out for the welfare of his employees by develop- ing roller conveyers to move the packages and by heating his ware- house loading docks in winter. "The company was world famous," said Rodger. Mr. Wasserman did not attend col- lege until age 60, when he graduated a three-year program for business leaders at Harvard University. "It was his proudest achievement," said Rodger. As a businessman, he lec- tured at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Lawrence Technological University in ' " Other of Mr. Wasserman's ventures included selling small airplanes to pilots after the war, selling garage doors during a building boom, and selling specialty industrial metal products. He designed the baggage handling system at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and worked for McKinsey & Co., a pre-eminent man- agement-consulting firm. "He had an absolute gift for antici- pating market need," said Rodger. "He was always coming up with inventions." About 40 years ago, he invented marketed one of the first industrial robots, one that could pick up a piece of metal and run it through a pattern in a punch press. In 1963, he marketed an early telephone answering machine. In 1968, he already had a primitive person- al computer in his home and, in 1994, althoLigh in the early stages of Alzheimer's, he developed "Easy PL," a simplified DOS-based programmable language. Although these projects were never successfully- marketed, they pro- vided an outlet for his creative and com- petitive juices. "He was a complex and really remarkable intellect," said son Gary "He was mentally fast, verbally fast, physical- ly quick, totally intense and passionate about everything that he did. He was a ball of fire." Pingpong Champion His sense of competition extended to athletics. He was a nationally ranked pingpong player from his youth into his 50s and excelled as well at golf and ten- nis. "He was known as either Al, the pingpong player' or the genius,'" said Rodger. His competitiveness and finely honed people-instincts made him a successful card player. Mr. Wasserman was always available to help a friend in need, said Roger, pro- viding that the person would return the favor not to him, but to another. He mentored young entrepreneurs though the SCORE program in Detroit and wrote an advice column in the business pages of the Detroit Free Press. In his lat- ter years he worked with Oakland County Probate Court Judge Eugene Moore and his staff to create a video to explain the probate court system to chil- dren caught in the process. Up until two years ago, even while afflicted with Alzheimer's, he still was Shiva Trays • • & complete meat, chicken, fish or dairy dinners in a time of need. ■ • LaDifference ■ 7295 Orchard Lake Road West Bloomfield ■ U ■ ■ call 248.932.8934 I ■ www.ladifference.com Alvin circa 1970 ■ ■ ■ U ■ I ammomsemiaammomileamise - st- circa 1970 GLATT KOSHER able to serve as a business consultant to Cafe Domain, a Royal Oak cyber cafe. "His intellectual strength still was there," said Gary. "They were thrilled to have him." At Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, he established the outdoor Wasserman Pavilion. He also funded the social hall for the former Congregation Beth Achim in Southfield, the exhibition hall at the Cranbrook Science Institute in Bloomfield Hills and the box-level promenade at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit. He was named the 1979 man of the year of the Reform Jewish Appeal. In addition, he was a supporter of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and enjoyed regu- lar give-and-take on religion and philos- ophy with its former executive vice pres- ident, the late Rabbi Max Wohlgelernter. "My dad was a very emotional man, totally devoted to his family and the people who needed him," Gary said. Alvin Wasserman is survived by his wife of 58 years, Edith L. Wasserman; sons and daughters-in-law Rodger and Loree Wasserman of Birmingham, Gary and Rita Wasserman of Birmingham; daughter and son-in-law Linda Wasserman and Joseph Aviv of Birmingham; grandchildren Amy and Ted Parfet, Nick Wasserman, Zachary Wasserman, Laura Wasserman, Imke Wasserman, Stephanie Etkin, Elizabeth Aviv, Sari Aviv and Rachel Aviv; brother and sister-in-law Sidney and Harriet Wasserman of Southfield. Mr. Wasserman was the loving son of the late Max and the late Rose Wasserman; dear brother of the late Sam Wasserman. Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Hospice of Michigan and the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. ❑ Under the Supervision of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis WE NOW HAVE SEATING FOR YOUR INDOOR DINING PLEASURE. 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