Obituaries are updated regularly
and archived on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.com

She married Sol Dann,
a lawyer, who was
involved in several
famous cases in the
Detroit area. He helped develop the state's work-
ers' compensation laws and later helped defend
Jack Ruby, who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, the
assassin of President John F. Kennedy.
The Danns belonged to many book clubs and
study groups and often wrote poems to each other.
Married for 38 years, they lived in
Israel for nine months and San
Diego, Calif, until he died there in
1976. She returned to Windsor in
1979 when she married Dr. Ben
LubOrsky; a former high school class-
mate. They enjoyed dining and danc-
ing, "sharing a love that they nur-
tured for each other with precious
care," said Moshe Dann. Dr.
Luborsky died of cancer in 1991.
She continued to travel to Israel
many times to visit two, of her children
and many grandchildren and great-
grandchildren.
Anne Luborsky
"Mom was enthusiastic about
everything and everyone she encoun-
tered," her son pointed out. "Her optimism was an
inspiration and her bubbly personality attracted new
friends wherever she went. She loved to entertain ...
made challah, mandelbread and chicken soup.
"She was also sort of a flower child, with a naive
concern and curiosity for others. She was a bit of a

Enthusiastic Matriarch

BILL CARROLL

Special to the Jewish News

A

nne Luborsky was deScribed by her son,
Moshe (Marty) Dann of Israel, as being "a
symphony in four movements: Her love of
family, of life, the artist's way and her being herself.
She was her own conductor, with a rhythm that set
a pace and intensity few of us could follow."
That symphony was stilled April 22; 2004, when
Mrs. Luborsky, the matriarch of a huge family, died
of cancer at age 89 in Windsor, Ont. "This is the first
time we haven't seen Mom running around, doing
something, loving, giving, serving, creating, discover-
ing," said Dann in an eloquent eulogy to his mother
at her funeral the next day. He is one of five children,
22 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
Dann, a Jewish News Israel correspondent, told
how Mrs. Luborsky faced adversity with courage and
optimism despite a long and difficult struggle with
cancer. Through it all, "she was always a peacemaker,
adapter and compromiser ... who was always there
when we needed her :.. and encouraged us to be
whatever we wanted, to excel and to accomplish."
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anne Benstein
came to Windsor with her family after the Russian
Revolution when the Communist regime confiscat-
ed her father's furniture business. She attended high
school and worked in Gray's Department Store.

Every Day Was A Blessing

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff Writer

W

hen Adam Baker of West Bloomfield was
born with a life-threaten-
ing, genetic disorder, doc-
tors told his parents he would live
only a few months.
Twenty-seven years later, he died,
May 2, 2004. His death followed what
his father Gary called "a good and pro-
ductive life."
"A lot of times, it's the parents
who pass a legacy down to their chil-
dren," Gary said. "In this case, he
brought it up. He showed the way
and taught us well."
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek said,
Adam Baker
"Adam taught how to always look at
the bright side of life and see each day as ablessing."
Adam's mission in life was to bring people together
and to teach them about the beauty in life. "He was
an incredible human being who throughout his life
brought such deep humanity, kindness, compassion
and laughter into the world," Rabbi Krakoff said. "If

you just looked into his eyes, you would walk away a
better person."
Rabbi Krakoff described Adam as a pure soul, a
fighter with a positive attitude, who taught joy, hope
and honesty. "There were never any
secrets, inhibitions or masks. He was who
he was. He was gentle-natured and eter-
nally accepting and loving."
Adam enjoyed being on the go — tak-
ing walks, trips to the mall, riding on.
planes.
"He lived in the moment and gave all of
himself that there was to give," Rabbi
Krakoff said. "Adam loved being around
other people. He had friends in numerous
and diverse places. He was so much fun to
be around — so full of smiles."
Adam's mother, Sheryl Baker, said, "He
didn't speak in words." Rabbi Krakoff
noted, "Adam communicated through
smiles and touches and sounds."
Adam was often known to hug those around him.
'And he would extend a hand to anyone within
reach," Gary Baker said.
It was also not unusual for others to approach
_Adam. "They serised his warm demeanor and want-

beatnik artist, fiercely independent, and willing to
try new things."
Mrs. Luborsky took art classes and painted many
canvases in oils and watercolors in her basement
studio and had a library filled with drawings and
sketchbooks. She loved to work in her garden of
flowers and vegetables as she watched the freighters
pass by on the Detroit River.
"Mom kept kosher in her own way and loved .
things Jewish," said her son. "She enjoyed speaking
Yiddish and attended Bible classes at
her shul," Shaar Hashomayim, the
Orthodox synagogue in Windsor.
"At times like this, we realize we
don't appreciate someone so fully until
they are gone," her son's eulogy con-
cluded.
Mrs. Luborsky is survived by her
son, Moshe Dann; daughters Miriam
Adahan of Jerusalem, Judy Karbal of
Chicago, Rachel Malkin of Los
Angeles and Rivka Rothstein of
Baltimore; 22 grandchildren; 23 great-
grandchildren. Interment at
Machpelah Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to "For
the Children," a fund to feed needy
children in Israel, c/o Shaar Hashomayim, 115 Giles
Blvd. East, Windsor, Ont. N9A4C1, or the Central
Fund of Israel, c/o Marcus Brothers, 980 Sixth Ave.,
New York, N.Y.10018. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.

❑

ed to say hi to him," Rabbi Krakoff said. "And
everyone who met him remembered him. He made
an indelible impression."
Gary said his son "was a catalyst to create positive,
happy feelings in others. To look at him, you forgot
your troubles by just watching him have a good
time, just observing."
Sheryl said, "Adam brought out the best in all of
us. People would really go out of their way to help
him and dignify his life," she said. "That was the
beauty of Adam — the acts of loving-kindness and
nurturing he brought out in others.
Adam was a student at Wing Lake Developmental
Center in Bloomfield Township. He enjoyed art and,
though he used a wheelchair, Adam earned a bowling
trophy and loved to swim. "He was constantly over-
flowing with life," Rabbi Krakoff said. "He made the
world a better place — a more human place."
Adam Baker is survived by his parents, Sheryl and
Gary Baker of West Bloomfield; sister and brother,
Audrey and Joey of West Bloomfield; grandparents
Dorothy Herman and Betty Baker. He was the
beloved grandson of the late Norman Herman and
the late Norman Baker.
Interment at Clover Hill Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made to the Wing Lake
Developmental Center, 6490 Wing Lake Road,
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 or Angela Hospice,
14100 Newburgh Road, Livonia, MI 48154.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

"

❑

5/1 4
2004

.

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