Nate Garfinkel
BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News
E
ight Over Eighty is for youngsters,"
exclaimed 94-year-old Irvin Forman, who
lives alone and stills drives a car. "I'm ready
for 'Nine Over Ninety'."
That's the attitude permeating this year's group of
Eight Over Eighty honorees, who will be inducted into
the Jewish Apartments & Services (JAS) Senior Adult
Hall of Fame Sunday, May 6, at the Hechtman Jewish
Apartments on the Applebaum Jewish Community
Campus in West Bloomfield.
The eighth annual ceremony and brunch recognizes
metro Detroit's distinguished senior citizens for their
volunteerism and dedication to Jewish identity and
unselfish spirit benefiting the community.
Besides Forman, the others are Martha Burnstein,
Bertha Chomsky, Nate Garfinkel, Esther Goldenberg,
Stanley Morgenstern, Albert Newman and Morris
"Andy" Weiss.
Proceeds from the Eight Over Eighty program will
provide low-income JAS residents, who account for
more than half of the total 670 residents, with food
subsidies for their daily meals.
"Many of them have annwl' incomes of less than
$6,200 per year. The price of one ticket ($65) will pro-
vide a meal subsidy for two senior adults for one
month," says Neil Gorosh of West Bloomfield, chair-
man of the 2001 Eight Over Eighty event, which raises
•
about $50,000 each year.
Irvin Forman
"God's representative on Earth" is the way Susan
Weiner describes Forman, her "adopted father."
Weiner, of West Bloomfield, is the wife of Forman's
former son-in-law, both of
whom still maintain an excel-
lent relationship with him.
Visiting Menorah House in
Southfield as a volunteer 2-3
days a week, Forman "spreads
sunshine to whomever needs
it there, warming the face
and heart of everyone he
touches," she says. "If anyone
doesn't have visitors, he
becomes their relative."
Forman became familiar
with Menorah 1 rouse when
Irvin Forman
5/4
2001
38
Eight Over Eigh
will induct
unselfish
volunteers into
senior Jewish
hall of fame.
his wife, Katie, was a resident there until she died two
years ago. They had been married for 64 years. "After
she was gone, I decided to continue visiting the resi-
dents," he said. "I compliment them, ask them ques- ,
tions, lead the singing and help with the social events.'
Born in Russia, Forman came to America at the
outset of World War I. For many years, he owned
Stout Cleaners in Detroit, "but now I'm a government
employee," he quipped. "They pay me a monthly
Social Security check. It helps me play cards at the
Jewish Community Center."
Forman is the oldest living member and a past
president of the old Pinsker Society, a charitable
organization that raised funds for student scholar-
ships and needy families. He also raised money for
Israel bonds and Israeli labor organizations, being
involved in pro-Israel activity before it was popu-
lar.
"I do volunteer work because I enjoy helping
people," he states simply. "If someone needs help,
don't hesitate to give it to them," he urges the
younger generation. "You just have to believe in it
— and do it."
Garfinkel, 80, of West Bloomfield, was freed from the
Buchenwald Concentration Camp by the Allies at the
end of World War II. He spent the following years lec-
turing about surviving the Holocaust, speaking often of
the three "nevers." He says: "Never before in history
has there been such a large destruction of mankind by
another human being. We must never forget. And we
must never let it happen again."
It was only natural he became a volunteer at the
Holocaust Memorial Center in West Bloomfield, walk-
ing there almost daily from the Fleischman Residence
— even on the coldest days, even in snow and rain. In
1999, he was awarded a plaque for his dedicated volun-
teer service there.
Garfinkel's five sis-
ters survived the con-
centration camp with
him, and their experi-
ences were recounted
in a recently pub-
lished book called
Sarah's Children. Born
in Poland, he came to
America after the
war, worked in a
creamery, then oper-
ated his own barber-
shop in Ferndale. He Nate Garfinkel
still works weekends
at Adam's Barber
Shop in Hazel Park.
"He has great energy and spunk for his age," says his
daughter, Arlene Speiser of Oak Park, who drives him
there. Garfinkel and his wife, Mildred, were married
for 45 years. She died four years ago.
He expressed his strong value for life by donating
blood to the American Red Cross for almost 50 years,
stopping only because he'd reached the age limit of 75.
He is a strict vegetarian, and has decided to donate his
body to science.
Myrna Katz, Fleischman Residence program direc-
tor, describes Garfinkel as a "crusader without a
sword."
"He's a man of great spirit and conviction in all
areas," she says. "He not only possessed the spirit to
survive what others did not, but today, more than 55
years later, he retains the spirit to challenge all who do
not know or believe in what happened during the
Holocaust. His spirit leads him to stay active in causes
that benefit mankind."
Esther Goldenberg
Goldenberg, 88, is "the cookie lady" of Farmington
Hills. She motivates other volunteers to do better by
rewarding them with batches of home-baked chocolate
chip cookies. "The main ingredient of my cookies is
love, and it has lasted me a lifetime," she says.
Goldenberg was a homemaker during 60 years of
marriage to her husband, Norman, who died in 1992.
She was raised in Detroit, graduated from Northern
High School and briefly attended what is now Wayne
State University. She plunged into volunteer work.
But Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield now bene-
fits mainly from her volunteerism and enthusiasm.
Besides participating in weekly Torah study, she was ad