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Shoah Survivor Cherished Life
HARRY KIRS BAUM
StaffWriter
I
n the Kovno, Lithuania, ghetto in the summer
of 1944, a Nazi guard, smitten with Sylvia
Perli-ran's beauty, warned the apparently single
woman that the ghetto would soon be liquidat-
ed and offered to let her escape.
Thinking fast, she convinced him to let her take her
brothers, sisters and other relatives, too — and this
"family" escaped with her through a hole in a fence in
the middle of the night.
"She knew full well that her real sisters and brothers
were already dead or had been sent to the camps," said
Zina Kramer, Mrs. Perlman's daughter. To enable the
more than a dozen others to escape — including her
husband, Harold — she passed the group off as sib-
lings and relatives.
out 35,000 Jews were killed during the liquida-
tion oNf the ghetto, and only 3,200 survived. Mrs.
Perlman did her part to save lives in the ghetto and
later, in America, enriched her family with a positive
outlook that was summed up on a kitchen poster:
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Sylvia Perlman, 87, of Bloomfield Hills, died April
15, 2004, of complications from cancer and
Alzheimer's disease.
Zina said her parents spent the years after the war
illegally crossing borders, longing for freedom. They
MORRIS I. ABRAMS, age 89, of
Farmington Hills, died April 12, 2004.
An entrepreneur, he was honored by
B'nai B'rith for his contributions. He
was a member of the 20th Century
Club, a past president
of the Fae-Counts
Club and a member of
the Masons.
Mr. Abrams is sur-
vived by daughters and
son-in-law, Tina and
Leland Bassett of •
Abrams
Farmington Hills,
Sheryl Lynn Abrams of
Wixom; son, Mitchell Abrams; grand-
children, Joshua Bassett, Robert
Bassett, Julie Schloner, Suzanne
Abrams, Debra Abrams, Steven and Ivy
Abrams; great- grandchildren, Elliott
and Chloe Abrams. He was the beloved
husband of the late Ann King Abrams
and the late Ethel Mintz Burke
Abrams; devoted son of the late Isaac
and the late Rebecca Abrams; loving
brother and - brother-in-law of the late
Miriam and the late Adolph Goodman.
Interment at Machpelah Cemetery.
had gone through four weddings because different gov-
ernments wouldn't acknowledge the ceremonies at the
time. They ended up in a displaced persons camp,
where daughter Zina was born.
The family settled briefly out-
side of Munich, Germany, but
emigrated in 1947 to the
United States and Detroit,
where Harold's four uncles
lived. Mrs. Perlman was proud
that her new daughter, Anita,
was a native-born American.
"Some people looked at their
experiences in the Holocaust,"
said Zina. "My mother had
breast cancer, colon cancer, all
those things; and she would still
say, 'I am so lucky to be alive,
Sylvia Perlman
so lucky to be here.' I thought
that always made her unique."
Mrs. Perlman suffered from
Alzheimer's the last few years of her life, Zina said.
"The thing that made an enormous difference in the
quality of her life after Alzheimer's was the Brown Day
Care Center. She went there five days a week, and she
was so excited to get up every morning and know she
was going there."
Mrs. Perlman was informally involved with
Holocaust survivor and Hadassah groups, but spent
much time doting on her family.
"With all that she went through, I always expected
to see a colder side of her or a distrust," said grandson
David Kramer of Bloomfield Twp. "It was always so
heartwarming to see how much she loved both me and
my sister Lisa and my cousin Bradley and how she
took so much joy in spending time with us and
cooking for us.
Sylvia Perlman is survived by her daughters
and sons-in-law, Zina and Michael Kramer of
Bloomfield Hills, Anita and Ralph Zicherman of
West Bloomfield; grandchildren, David and
Anessa Kramer, Lisa Kramer, Bradley Zicherman;
and great-grandson, Sam Kramer.
Mrs. Perlman was the beloved
wife of the late Harold Perlman;
dear sister of the late
Rivka Grynberg, the late
Sonya Grynberg, the late
Moshe Grynberg and the late
OR
Lazar Grynberg.
Interment was at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to
the Sylvia and Harold Perlman
Transportation Fund at the
Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult
Day Care Program, 6720 W. Maple, West Bloomfield,
MI 48322; or the Sylvia and Harold Perlman Fund at
the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network, 24123
Greenfield, Southfield, MI 48075.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. 111
Contributions may be made to the
Lighthouse Hospice, 24293 Telegraph
Road, Suite 102, Southfield, MI 48034
or Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy
Network, 24123 Greenfield Road,
Southfield, MI 48075. Arrangements
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
Moshe Ashin, Elimelech Ashin.
Contributions may be made to
Young Israel of Oak Park, 15150 W.
10 Mile Road, Oak Park, MI 48237 or
to a charity of one's choice. Interment
at Westwood Cemetery. Arrangements
by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
FLORENCE ABELS ASHIN, 79, of
MAURICE BARNES, 96, of West
Oak Park, died April 9, 2004. During
World War II, she worked at the New
York Central Railroad and later was
active in her husband's business. She
was a volunteer at Sinai Hospital for
18 years. More recently, she was a vol-
unteer at Yad Ezra Food Bank and
Meals on Wheels.
Mrs. Ashin 'is survived by her hus-
band, Irving Ashin; daughter and son-
in-law, Elizabeth and Garland Strother
of New Orleans; sons and daughters-
in-law, Todd and Tzipi Ashin of Oak
Park, Brian and Judith Ashin of Ann
Arbor; sister and brother-in-law, Phyllis
and Bernard Ludwig of Farmington
Hills; grandchildren, Benjamin Ashin,
Kathryn Ashin, Yakov Ashin, Bayla
Ashin, Shmuel Ashin, Binyomin Ashin,
Bloomfield, died. April 14, 2004.
He is survived by his sisters, Edith
Solomon of West Bloomfield, Shirley
Miller of West Bloomfield; nieces,
Phyllis Abrahams, Sheila Schwartz;
many other loving nieces and nephews.
Contributions may be made to
JARC, 30301 Northwestern Hwy.,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334 or to a
charity of one's choice. Services and
interment at Adat Shalom Memorial
Park. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
SADIE BOLDES, 90, of Southfield,
died April 11, 2004.
She is survived by her son and daugh-
ter-in-law, James and Kristen Harlan
Boldes of Altadena, Calif.; daughter and
"
son-in-law, Marie and Melvyn
Goldstein of Beverly Hills; brother and
sister-in-law, Daniel and Claire Finn of
Rockville, Md.; grandchildren, Max
Boldes, Henry Boldes, Jodi Burke,
Mindy Goldstein. She was the beloved
wife of the late Max Boldes.
Contributions may be made to
DEAF Can, 2111 Orchard Lake
Road, Sylvan Lake, MI 48320.
Services and interment at Hebrew
Memorial Park. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
SUSAN BRAND of Southfield, died
April 9, 2004.
She is survived by her husband,
Mitchell Brand; nieces and nephews,
Dorian, Tanya and
Cory Gluckman,
Joshua, Karen and
Wendy Brand; sister-
in-law and brother-in-
law, Harry and
Barbara Brand.
Contributions may
be
made to a charity of .
Brand
•
OBITS
on page 106
4/23
2004
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