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www.detroitjewishnews.com

attended a wedding in
Detroit — and never
really returned," said
their son, Joel, "rea-
soning that the only
way they could really
get ahead in this
country was to live in
a big city."
Starting as an
worldwide. This success
apprentice butcher,
helped make him a philan-
Mr. Dorfman
thropist and champion of
launched the
many Jewish charitable caus-
Frederick Packing Co.
es, with a deep commitment
Henry D orfinan
at
Detroit's Eastern
to the community, including
Market,
which evolved
his role as a founder of the
into Frederick and Harrud, Inc., then
Holocaust Memorial Center in West
the Southfield-based Thorn Apple
Bloomfield.
Valley,
the well-known packer of meat
"He was a herO in many ways,
and
poultry
products, named after a
whose advice was to always fol-
river in Michigan. He was chairman,
low what you believe in," said
while his son became president in 1985.
Rabbi Groner. "He never was
The firm was sold in 1999 to the IBP
impressed by balance sheets and
Corp., which now is combining with
organizational charts, but just by
Tyson Foods.
people themselves the people
"So, the company my father founded
in his family, Jewish people
is
becoming
the largest packer of meat
everywhere, the people who
and chicken products in the world,"
worked for him. He was a hero to all of
Joel Dorfman pointed out.
them, dynamic and fearless.
"Throughout his career, he worked
"When he escaped the Holocaust and
hard,
acquired the best people, and
came to America, he easily could have
knew how to motivate them and get the
detached himself from the community
most out of them."
because he had been through enough of
Also active in the business from the
an ordeal. But he worked hard and gave
beginning
were Mr. Dorfman's broth-
as much back to the community as he
ers-in-law, Allen Charlupski and Julius
could."
Schaumberg, whose wives, Franka and
Born in Poland, Mr. Dorfman and his
Rosa, are sisters of Mala Dorfman.
father were hidden from the Nazis by a
"My parents were very devoted to
gentile farmer during World War II.
each other through 56 years of mar-
The rest of the family perished in the
riage," said Joel. "My father always told
Holocaust.
us to make sure and take care of our
In 1945, Mr. Dorfman married Mala
mother. They've been great role mod-
Weintraub, who had survived a concen-
els." Added Carolyn, "My father always
tration camp, and they came to America
said,
'Some men like to gamble; I like to
in 1949, first to Topeka, Kan. "They

Business,
Communal Hero

BILL CARROLL

Special to the Jewish News

33

enry Dorfman always said
God gave him nvo hands
for good reason: one to use
to earn and take, the other
to use to give back to his family and the
Jewish community. Dorfman,
who died at age 79 on Dec. 1 of
pneumonia in a Miami Beach,
Fla., hospital, was very good at
both.
Though short in stature, Mr.
Dorfman, a Holocaust survivor,
was "as tall a man as anyone you
could find anywhere in the
world," said Rabbi Irwin Groner
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in his
eulogy at the Dec. 3 funeral. "He was a
leader in his family, in his industry, in
the Jewish community, and among all of
the Holocaust survivors ... He was a
unique man, who taught us how to be a
real Jew and a real mensch (gentleman)."
In a tribute to her father, Carolyn'
Dorfman Gallick added: "There's not a
person in the world he touched whose
heart he still doesn't live in."
Through his business savvy — with
only an eighth-grade education — Mr.
Dorfman turned a small meat-packing
company with 10 employees into the
Thorn Apple Valley empire, an opera-
tion that had plants in four states, 4,000
employees and $1 billion in yearly sales

She Walked In Beauty

DIANA LIEBERMAN

Copy Editor

N

obody loved a sunset as much as Annette
Fink. Nobody gave as much thought to
the purchase of a gift, finding just the
right place to hold a baby shower, or the
right tile for the bathroom.
"God love her, that's Annette," her friend Shirley
Ann Kruman would say.
Mrs. Fink, 58, died Dec. 2 in her West
Bloomfield home after a brutal two-month struggle
with lung cancer. She was surrounded by her fami-
ly, attorney Herschel Fink and children Sheri and
Marc.
"God must have loved her, to have made her so

organized, so perfect and
so loving," said Kruman, a
friend for 52 years. "She
made a difference for the
better in every life she
touched."
A lover of beauty, Mrs..
Fink was in the midst of
building a home on Cass Annette Fink
Lake. Designed to face the
sunset, it would have been a showcase for her col-
lections of art and art glass.
"This house was her dream," said her husband.
"She didn't like to travel. She wanted every day to
be a vacation."
Annette and Herschel Fink were together since
1959, when she was barely 16 and he was 17. "She

buy things for my wife. —
Frequently professing his love for
America, Mr. Dorfman maintained
homes in Franklin and Bal Harbor, Fla.
He was active in the Aventura-
Turnberry Jewish Center in Florida and
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield. He was honored with a
Yom Kippur morning alzy ah for many
years.
He supported Israel Bonds, Hillel
Day School of Metropolitan Detroit,
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America and B'nai B'rith,
winning awards from the latter two
organizations.
Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig of the
Holocaust Memorial Center said Mr.
Dorfman's death was a "big loss to the
community. He was a sincere and dedi-
cated individual, who was an inspira-
tion to all of us. He had an important
role in establishing the Holocaust
Memorial Center, not only through his
donations, but by bringing in others to
support us. He also exhibited an
unprecedented dedication to his par-
ents."
Mr. Dorfman is survived by his wife,
Mala; children Joel and Carol Dorfman,
Carolyn and Gregory Gallick and Gayle
Weiss; grandchildren Noah and Jordan
Dorfman, Layne, Devin and Logan
Weiss, and Rebecca and Samantha
Gallick; step-mother Malka Dorfman of
Israel; sisters Gina (Gary) Galin, Rina
(Paul) Gritt and Tova (Raviv Schwartz)
Dorfman.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
El

often said, in her last days, that we were blessed by
having been together so many years," said her hus-
band.
Fink, whose first job was as a Jewish News
reporter, began attending law school at night the
week his first child was born. He is now a First
Amendment lawyer whose clients include the Jewish
News and the Detroit Free Press.
"I worked all night, slept all day, so the only time
I saw her was the evenings," he said. "Thanks to
her, I vas able to achieve my dream."
Mrs. Fink extended her love not only to her
countless friends, but also to their families, said
Dottie Levitsky, a friend for more than 30 years.
"My mother moved here and they shared the same
birthday, Feb. 23, so every year they celebrated
together," Levitsky said. When Levitsky's mom moved
to Franklin Terrace, Mrs. Fink brought a cake and
took photos.
When Levitsky's son was ill and the family couldn't

FINK on page 146

12/7

2001

145