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He Died A Hero

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jezvish News

K

evin Hersh — who lived
to help others — died at
age 36 saving the life of a
friend.
Mr. Hersh, a Southfield native of
Fort Collins, Colo., drowned April
11 while on a cruise that he had won
in an Internet contest.
Family members said he and
a friend went swimming off of
a beach in Cozumel, Mexico,
but were caught in an under-
tow. He got safely to shore,
then saw his friend was still in
the water. He swam back and
pulled her closer to shore, but
apparently got tired and
drowned. Local authorities
brought him back to the
beach, but resuscitation efforts
failed.
"He was a true hero," said
his mother, Elaine Hersh of
West Bloomfield. "He died as Kevin
he lived, helping others. He
was a kind, gentle person who
touched all souls deeply. He always
wanted to make a difference in the
world ... and I'm sure he did."
Mr. Hersh moved to Colorado
three years ago to work as a comput-
er engineer at Hewlett-Packard.
When his co-workers and friends
there heard about the accident, they
flooded the family residence here
with phone calls and e-mails, most
with the thought: "That was Kevin
— he always wanted to help some-
one else."
One former colleague referred to
him as a "brilliant software engineer
and a true friend." Two Hewlett-
Packard officials came in from
Colorado to attend his funeral. Mr.
Hersh had two computer patents
pending at the company.
His brother, Dr. Nelson "Nick"
Hersh of West Bloomfield, said, "tak-
ing action to save a life symbolized
Kevin's life. He was caring, giving,
compassionate and charitable. It's
hard to believe a terrible thing like
this could happen to someone so
good." Kevin Hersh's name will be
added to a plaque being dedicated to
his parents by Dr. Hersh in honor of
a recent contribution he made to the
West Bloomfield Schools.

Mr. Hersh grew up in Southfield
and went to Leonard Elementary,
Birney Middle School and
Southfield-Lathrup High. He
worked in a chemical laboratory
while attending Wayne State
University, then received a bachelor's
degree in computer engineering from
the University of Michigan. He
taught a course in creative thinking
at Oakland
University and
backpacked
throughout
Europe and
Costa Rica, tak-
ing classes at
local colleges to
learn the lan-
guages.
"He was a very
inquisitive per-
son, a philoso-
pher, an environ-
mentalist, a
friend of the
Hersh
homeless and
tireless worker at
food shelters, a
lover of classical music and
Shakespeare," said his mother.
"He had an uncanny way of help-
ing people with their problems — by
asking them penetrating questions so
he could use the answers to give
them advice."
She said her son once tried to con-
quer his fear of heights by going sky-
diving. "But one jump was all he
could take," she recalled.
Kevin Hersh is survived by his. par-
ents, Elaine and Jerry Hersh of West
Bloomfield; brothers. and sisters-in-
law, Dr. Nelson and Susan Hersh of
West Bloomfield, Robert and
Barbara Hersh of Everett, Wash.; sis-
ter, Dr. Cathy Hersh Troyka of Carol
Stream, Ill.; nephews and nieces
Joshua, Jonathan, Michelle, Jessica
and Rebecca Hersh and Justin and
Melinda Troyka. He also is survived
by Elaine Linas and Christopher
Linas.
Burial was at Beth El Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
the Hersh Family Fine Arts Wing,
do West Bloomfield School District,
5810 Commerce Road, West
Bloomfield, MI 48324.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. ❑

She Never Gave Up

ROBERT A. SKLAR
Editor

S

he spent nine years battling
Alzheimer's disease, but
strong family ties, bolstered
by growing up in a family
with nine children, kept her going
right up until the end of her life.
Ethel Gordon, 82, of West '
Bloomfield died April 10 at the Home
Hospice in Farmington Hills.
Speaking at her funeral, Rabbi
Harold Loss of Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield described Mrs.
Gordon as someone whose "outer
beauty was a reflection .
of her inner kindness,
her warmth, her love-
liness.
"Ethel was blessed in
many ways by a family
in every generation
who knew that she was
special."
Ethel and Irving
Gordon, who met in
South Haven, would
have been married 60
years next month. A
Chicago native, Irving
provided the steady,
loving hand as she
Ethel Gordon
began to weaken.
"With your arm
around your wife, her
hand in yours, this is the image that
so many of your family can see," said
,
Rabbi Loss.
Irving learned to put makeup on his
wife, do her hair and tend to her every
need. "It is simply what you do when
you love someone — to be there to
care for them," said Rabbi Loss.
At the funeral, granddaughter
Amy Wechsler read her poem about
the "unconditional love" of her
grandparents, including their sum-
mer visits to nearby Drake Sports
Park. There, the children and grand-
children dedicated a bench, "with
love and devotion," to their mother
and grandmother.
Irving called it "Ethel's Bench."
The poem speaks, in part, to Irving:
When you go to the park bench, she
will be with you.
When you look at a sunset, she will be
with you.
When you smell the rain, she will be
with you.
When you look at yourself; she is you.
Ethel was the fifth of nine children

of Anna and Ben Stone of Detroit.
When Anna died in 1929, the older
children helped raised the younger
ones. "When there were those who
advised separating the younger chil-
dren and distributing them to other
homes, this family maintained a sense
of closeness that was always welcoming
through the years," Rabbi Loss said.
He related that Mrs. Gordon taught
that same "kind strength" to her two
daughters and her three grandchil-
dren.
An accomplished athlete, Mrs.
Gordon was a three-time ladies cham-
pion at Somerset Park Golf Course in
Troy. Her apartment
patio overlooking the
golf course was known
for sporting vibrant
geraniums.
"In sickness, she was
more of a champion
than ever before," - her
husband Irving said.
"Her desire and willing-
ness to cooperate with
those trying to help her,
and never give up, was
a real inspiration."
Mrs. Gordon is sur-
vived by her husband,
Irving; daughters,
Barbara Ann Wechsler
of West Bloomfield,
Linda Susan Gordon of
San Francisco; brothers and sisters-in-
law, Ralph and Rosalyn Stone of
Bingham Farms, William and Ceci
Stone of Bloomfield Township; sisters
and brother-in-law, Ruth Hack of
Delray Beach, Fla., Rose and Dan
Siegel of Chesterfield, Mo.; brother-
in-law, Harold Getz of West Palm
Beach, Fla.; sister-in-law, Ileane Stone
of Farmington Hills; grandchildren,
Julie (and Tony) Primak of Royal
Oak, Lori Wechsler and Amy
Wechsler of Farmington Hills; and
great-grandson, Jacob Primak.
She was the dear sister of the late
Dorothy Sklar, the late Margaret Getz,
the late Sylvia Ellman and the late Ted
Stone; and sister-in-law of the late
Joseph Sklar and the late Maurice Korn.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be
made to the Alzheimer's Disease and
Related Disorders Association, 17220
W. 12 Mile, Suite 100, Southfield, MI
48076 or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by the Dorfman
Chapel. ❑