This space contributed as a public service.

Obituaries are updated regularly and archived on JN Online:

"YES,THERE IS
LIFE AFTER
BREAST CANCER.
AND THAT'S THE
WHOLE POINT:"

—Ann Jillian

A lot of women are so afraid
of breast cancer they don't want
to hear about it.
And that's what frightens me.
Because those women won't
practice breast self-examination
regularly.
Those women, particularly
those over 35, won't ask their
doctor about a manirnogram.
Yet that's what's required for
breast cancer to be detected early.
When the cure rate is 90%. And

4/20
2001

124

L

when there's a good chance it
won't involve the loss of a breast.
But no matter what it
involves, take it from someone
who's been through it all.
Life is just too wonderful to
give up on. And, as I fOund out,
you don't have to give up on any
of it. Not work, not play, not even
romance.
Oh, there is one thing, though.
You do have to give up being
afraid to take care of yourself.

'AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'

■ 6

Get a checkup. Life is worth it.

www.detroitjewishnews.com

Leader In Business, Arts

DAVID SACHS

Copy Editor

idney Winer understood the
importance of balance in life.
"He felt that your business is
important, but it's not your
entire life," said daughter
Susan Winer. "You're
going to be remembered
for being a good man
and a good person in the
community."
Sidney J. Winer, 93,
of West Bloomfield, died
of heart failure April 15.
He was an entrepreneur
and an innovator in the
area of consumer collec-
tions, putting his ethical
imprint on an upstart
industry. But at the same
time, he was a prolific
participant and patron of Sidney Winer
the arts, promoting both
cultural and Jewish causes
around Detroit.
Mr. Winer was a pioneer in the con-
sumer collection field. A University of
Michigan graduate, he founded
Creditors Service in Detroit in 1936. He
brought an ethical standard to an indus-
try that at the time could be heavy-
handed, even unsavory, said his daugh-
ter.
'As a result of who he was and how
he approached the business — his
respecting the people he collected from
as well as the people he collected for —
his business became the model for what
the industry could become and, ulti-
mately, did become," she said.
Creditors Service eventually moved
from downtown Detroit to the Seven
Mile-Meyers area and opened a half-
dozen offices nationwide. In 1968,
Diners Club International purchased the
business, retaining Mr. Winer as board
chairman of its National Accounts
Systems.
Mr. Winer served as president of the
American Collectors Association 1950-
1951, and his years of leadership helped
bring about significant improvements in
the laws of interstate commerce and col-
lection, said his daughter.
But on the cultural side, Mr. Winer
left his mark as well. He was a director
of amateur theater in the 1930s. Melba,
his wife of 60 years, was an actress and
director and a speech teacher at what is
now Wayne State University. She shared
his love for theater and the arts. The

Winers were founders of the Center
Theatre at the Jewish Community
Center at Meyers and Curtis in Detroit.
"The theater was actually designed in
my parents' basement and the first
rehearsals were in our house before the
theater was built," said Susan.
The Winers'
Sherwood Forest home
in northwest Detroit
was a stopping point for
touring musicians and
artists, she said. "My
parents were not only
avid patrons of the arts,
they were avid support-
ers of people."
Mr. Winer served on
the Jewish Community
Center's board of direc-
tors and with his wife
established a fund to
help children study the-
ater and dance at Fresh
Air Camp, now at
Camp Maas in
Ortonville. A dance barn there was
named in their honor.
Mr. Winer was a benefactor of the
Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, Wayne State
University's Hilberry Theatre,
Congregation Shaarey Zedek and the
University of Michigan, among oth-
ers.
"My husband should be remembered
for his talent, his integrity, his love of
people and his philanthropic efforts
— but mostly because he was an hon-
est and good man," said Melba Winer.
Mr. Winer is survived by his wife,
Melba Winer; daughters and son-in-
law Susan Winer of Chicago, Jan
Winer and David Kirschner of
California; son and daughter-in-law
Harry Winer and Shelley Hack of
California; grandchildren Devon Rose
Winer and Matthew, Eric and Jesse
Kirschner; and sister-in-law and brother-
in-law Esther and Marvin Mintz.
He was the dear brother of the late
Arthur Winer, the late Sylvia Winer and
the late Gertrude Kaplan.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to the Sidney and Melba Winer Fund at
the Fresh Air Society, 6735 Telegraph
Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301 and
the Sidney and Melba Winer Creative
Arts Fund for Children at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road,
Southfield, MI 48034. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel. ❑