INSIDE:
Community
Calendar
43
Mazel
Toy!
45
A CARING SOUL
As 'Activist of the Yean" David Techner tends to Jews
in Detroit and Israel in their hours of need
SHARON LUCKERMAN
Staff Writer
T
he day funeral director David Techner
found out he was to be feted as Detroit
Jewry's 'Activist of the Year," he had to
inform his mother, Miriam — even
though she lay near death.
It was a bittersweet moment for him, at the least.
On that very day, his sister-in-law Patty Dube
became extremely ill, and his mother was moved
into a hospice with only hours to live.
"I was so surprised to learn about the award,"
Techner says. "Whenever something good happens
to me, I share it with my wife and kids, and then
with my mother."
So at the nursing home, he had to tell his mother
the good news. He sat down and talked to her, not
knowing if she could hear him or not, but hoping
she could grasp some nachas from him in the last
moments of her life.
Both his mother and sister-in-law died the next
day.
As a funeral director at the Ira Kaufman Chapel in
Southfield, Techner has shown a gift for turning his
own and other people's hardships into spiritual expe-
riences and acts of community service.
For this caring gift and others, Techner, 51, of
Birmingham was selected "Activist of the Year" by
the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan
Detroit and will be honored Wednesday, May 21, at
Temple Emanu-El.
A cancer survivor, Techner became MiChigan
chairman of Kids Kicking Cancer, a group that
helps children gain a sense of empowerment when
undergoing treatment. As a funeral director, he saw
the need for a Jewish approach to hospice before
one was formulated. His work contributed to the
creation of a Jewish hos-
From the left:
pice model for the
United States and Israel.
Ilene and David Techner
His focus on children
facing the death of a
The Techners: Stephanie,
loved one comes from
Chad, Ilene, David and
his memory of needing
Ari, with dogs and Rafter,
answers and not getting
the horse.
them at age 9, when his
grandfather died.
Techner now takes children who face loss around
his chapel. He encourages them to participate in
their own way, such as putting a note they write to
their loved one into the casket.
And he answers their questions.
"Kids need to understand what's happening here,"
says Techner. "Children experience a loss with death.
But it's also an opportunity to connect that child to
A CARING SOUL on page 36
5/16
2003
35