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r .
Communal Activist
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
L
ucille Weisberg of Bloomfield
Hills was not just a contribu-
tor to Jewish causes and a
sponsor of Jewish events.
Mrs. Weisberg was an activist, a
hands-on volunteer who gave her
time to further the Jewish communi-
ty. Mrs. Weisberg died March 1,
2005, at age 77.
Through her husband Harvey's
business, the former Chatham
Supermarkets, the Weisbergs could
afford to be major
philanthropists.
But they also
backed their con-
tributions with
activism and cam:-
munity support.
Mrs. Weisberg
served on the
boards of B'nai
B'rith Women
(now Jewish
Women
International),
Hadassah,
Brandeis
University
Women's
Committee, the
League of Jewish
Women's
Organizations and Lucille Weisberg
Jewish Family
Service's
Resettlement Service.
Locally, she volunteered as an
English teacher for Jews from the for-
mer Soviet Union from 1970 to 1983
at the Jewish Community Center and
helped her students find jobs. When
the Holocaust Memorial Center
opened in 1983, she trained as a vol-
unteer docent and led tours for 10
years.
Active in Israel Bonds and its
Women's Division and the Jewish
Federation's Annual Campaign, Mrs.
Weisberg served as Israel Bonds chair
for Hadassah and B'nai Writh
Women. The Weisbergs also spon-
sored community-wide cultural
events at their synagogue,
Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
k.
In 1981, Ale was Radassah's .
Woman of the Year and was present,
ed Israel Bonds' Lion of Judah Award
by Leah Rabin. In 1996, she was the
honoree at Jewish Women
International's special gifts luncheon.
She was also active with Women's
American ORT and National
Council of Jewish Women.
Mrs. Weisberg majored in Spanish
and minored. in English at the
University of Michigan. After she and
Harvey married in 1948, she worked
at the Institute for Social Research
while he attended U-M Law School.
After his gradua-
tion, she taught in
junior and senior
high schools in
Detroit.
Mrs. Weisberg
is survived by her
husband, Harvey
L. Weisberg; sons
and daughters-in-
law, Cantor Roger
and Audrey
Weisberg of
Illinois, Daniel
Weisberg and
partner David
Klingenberger of
Illinois, Barry and
Deena Weisberg
of West
Bloomfield;
grandchildren,
Joshua, Heather,
Jonathan and
Jennifer Weisberg; brother and sister-
in-law, Myron and Lillian Birnbaum
of Connecticut; sister, Gladys Bayer
of Connecticut; brothers-in-law and
sisters-in-law, Bernard and Helen
Weisberg, Alvin and Henrietta
Weisberg, Harold and Marion
Weisberg.
She was the devoted mother of the
late Jeffrey L. Weisberg; loving sister
of the late Leonard Birnbaum;
beloved daughter of the late Isadore
and the late Pauline Birnbaum; dear
sister-in-law of the late Selma
Feinberg and the late George
Feinberg.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel. ❑
Friend Of ARMDI
ALAN .ABRAMS
Special to the Jewish News
A
t funeral services in Miami
Beach for Joseph Handleman,
the 99-year-old co-founder of
the Troy-based Handleman Company,
former Detroit journalist David
Lawrence Jr. summed up the life of
the businessman and philanthropist
with a simple anecdote in his eulogy.
He recounted a story that took
place a decade ago at the dedication of
a auditorium-cafeteria at a Miami
school. In attendance were 200 chil-
dren — from the Dominican Repub-
lic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Nicaragua,
Haiti and elsewhere whose mission
was to sing "God Bless America."
Lawrence recounted, "In the crowd
is a man who will be 90 in a few
months, frail in body, strong in spirit.
He is the largest single contributor to
this community project, and he is
deeply moved by what he sees and
hears that morning. Asked to say a
few words, he moves slowly. His mes-
sage is soft and simple: 'Could the
school use another $50,000 to help
these children?'"
The man was Joseph Handleman.
Mr. Handleman died on Feb. 28,
2005. He had lived in South Florida
since 1966, most recently in Bay
Harbor Islands.
Mr. Handleman's philanthropy
extended to Israel. He was the past
national president and national chair-
man of the American Red Magen
David for Israel (ARMDI), which
helps fund lifesaving emergency med-
ical services there.
In a statement, ARMDI said that
his dedication and love for the Jewish
people and Israel led to the building
of the ARMDI-Magen David Adorn
National Blood Services Center in
Ramat Gan, the only such center in
Israel. He and his wife, Sally, commis-
sioned the sculpture Brotherhood of
Man by sculptor Nathan Rapoport
that sits in Handleman Plaza in front
of the center.
In 1980, Mr. Handleman was
awarded the Jabotinsky Centennial
Medal by the Israeli government for
his service to the country. In Miami,
he served on the board-of directors of
the Jewish federation and on the exec-
utive committee for the Jewish
Joseph Handleman
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1905, Mr.
Handleman lived most of his life in
Detroit. A high school dropout, he and
his three brothers and their father
founded the Handleman Company in
1934 as a distributor of pharmaceuticals.
"Clearly, he was a very creative guy
and a marketer," said Stephen Strome,
chairman of the board and CEO of
the Handleman Company. "He's the
one who led the company into health
and beauty aids in the 1940s and into
the music business in the 1950s. He
was responsible for most of the com-
pany's early growth through 1966 and
was president when he took it public."
Mr. Handleman, who was an inter-
nationally known management and
sales consultant, served as the compa-
ny's president from the 1950s until
1966 and remained a board member
until 1975.
Mr. Handleman is survived by his
wife of 69 years, Sally (Kabaker); his
children, Joan Sadoff (Dr. Robert),
Joyce Mueller (Hans) and Lynn
Handleman; grandchildren Debra
Sadoff (Dr. Richard Seidelman), David
Sadoff (Dr. Claudia), Dr. Julie Sadoff
(Dr. Malek Moazzan-Doulat), Sherry
Hanck (Brian), Christian Mueller,
Marissa Mueller, Scott Handleman;
great-grandchildren Jessica and Eric
Seidelman, Haley, Rachel and Jacob
Sadoff, Azad and Maya Dulat and
Cassidy Hanck. His brother and busi-
ness partner, David Handleman, sur-
vives him as well.
Contributions may be made to the
Dr. John J. Mames Chapter, Michigan
Region of ARMDI, 23470 Riverview
Drive, Southfield, MI 48034. ❑ *IN
3/10
2005
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