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A Heroic Life

LEONARD POGER

Copy Editor

S

teven Goldin was a hero -- as
he and his sister survived the
Holocaust as teenagers in
Europe, and also in America to his
children and grandchildren.
During the war, he helped save the
lives of other Jews fleeing Nazi-occu-
pied territories in Central and
Eastern Europe. In America, he
continued to tell his story to
Metro Detroit audiences at the
Holocaust Memorial Center.
Mr. Goldin, 84, of Oak Park,
died April 13, 2005, of compli-
cations from brain cancer.
His wife, Helen Goldin,
remembers vividly how she met
her husband.
"It was the Jewish Community Center
on Woodward at Clairmont in 1947,"
she recalled. Mr. Goldin, then only 17
and a recent immigrant from Poland,
"was the best looking man at the Center
that night," she said. Married two years

to the many Jews whose lives
he spared while risking his
own during the Holocaust."
During his war years' flight,
later, they would have celebrat-
he
pretended to be of the
ed their 56th anniversary on
nationality
of the country he
May 30.
was in. That helped him to
She recalls her husband
learn eight languages.
telling the story of how he
He and his sister, Anna
and his sister escaped the
Steven Goldin
Zucker Levin, were the only
ghetto in Ludvipol, Poland,
survivors of their family.
with the help of a gentile
In establishing his own
friend who guarded the ghetto gates.
scrap iron and metal business, based in
At one point, the friend told Goldin
Oak Park, "he was notorious for being
to "get out — things are get-
ting bad." But his parents were fearless in seeking business. His hot
reluctant to leave. "Things will pink business card in this burly mas-
culine business became his trade-
get better," they thought. The
parents and another son decid- mark," daughter Elyse said.
Helen Goldin remembers her hus-
ed to stay but agreed that
band
as someone who was outspoken.
Steven could flee with his sis-
He was a hero to his children and
ter.
The two siblings lived in the grandchildren. "He taught us by exam-
ple to be strong and independent and to
forests for several years, living
never give up," said son Gary Goldin.
on bowls of soup and pieces of bread
Mr. Goldin was president of the
given to them by farmers. At one
Zionist
Revisionists of America for
point, Mr. Goldin joined the Irgun, a
more
than
a decade, a supporter of the
Jewish defense organization, and
Jabotinsky Herut USA organization
helped other Jews escape.
and a frequent speaker at the
Daughter Elyse Foltyn described her
Holocaust Memorial Center, which
father as "a hero and bigger than life
earned him many awards.
to all who knew him. He was a hero

He received the. Jabotinsky Centennial
Citation in 1980 from his longtime
friend Israeli Prime Minister Menachem
Begin as well as the.Israel State Medal.
In 1995, he also received recognition for
serving as president of Jabotinsky Herat
USA from 1948 to 1979.
Mr. Goldin is survived by his wife,
Helen Goldin; daughters, Gail (Paul)
Wunsch of Studio City, Calif, Elyse
(David) Foltyn of Birmingham; sons,
Gary Allan (Shelley) Goldin of West
Bloomfield, and Dr. Craig (Dr.
Marcy) Goldin of West Bloomfield;
sister, Anna Zuker Levin; grandchil-
dren, Julia Wunsch, Hilary, Allison
and Scott Goldin, Mara, Lindsay,
Molly, Abby, Lily, Evan and Eli
Foltyn, Amanda and Daniel Goldin.
Memorial donations may be sent to
Jewish National Fund, 24100
Chagrin, Suite 100, Cleveland, OH
44122; Child Abuse and Neglect
Council of Oakland County, 44765
Woodward, Pontiac, MI 48341, or the
Autism Research Institute, 4182
Adams, San Diego, CA 92116.
Interment was at Workmen's Circle
Cemetery, Ostrovitzer Section with
arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel.

Holocaust and the compliancy
of many Catholics."
The two first met while on a
panel created by Cardinal Maida
at age 52.
and Rabbi Irwin Groner of
At the time of his death,
Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
Father West had been work-
and continued their panel dis-
ing closely with Rabbi
cussions on TV and radio
Daniel Nevins of Adat
through the years. They shared
Shalom Synagogue. The two
Father West
many interests, including inter-
were to co-lead local Jewish
faith relations, politics and reli-
and Christian clergy on a May 2-12
gious education; this year they worked
interfaith mission to Italy and Israel,
together on a bio-ethics program.
sponsored by the Farmington Area
"He consistently expressed curiosity
Interfaith Association, of which Rabbi
and respect towards his fellow religious
Nevins is president.
seekers," said Rabbi Nevins, whose fami-
"He was so excited about going to
ly recently welcomed Father West into
Jerusalem," Rabbi Nevins said. "I antici-
their home for Shabbat dinner.
pated exploring the Vatican with Father
Following Father West's funeral, Rabbi
West, and I will think of him and pray
Nevins organized an interfaith service in
for his precious soul when we visit that
place which he knew and loved so well." his memory.
"Father West was a true friend who
Rabbi Nevins referred to Father West
partnered
with me on interfaith issues
as "a gem of a human being, a leader of
for a number of years, and his friendship
leaders and a dear friend."
with the Jewish Community Council
"He was very intelligent and deep-
was fruitful and constructive," said
rooted in his own tradition but was
always sensitive to other people, wanting David Gad-Harf, executive director of
the JCCouncil of Metropolitan Detroit,
to listen to them," Rabbi Nevins said.
in a statement. "Father West served as a
At a recent program on the
devoted and tireless advocate for greater
Holocaust, Rabbi Nevins recalled how
interaction between Catholic and Jewish
Father West "spoke with great depth of
communities in Metropolitan Detroit,
feeling about the horrors of the

and he worked to ensure that any differ-
ence between us were transformed into
learning experiences that furthered our
relationship."
In an e-mail Rabbi Nevins circulated
upon hearing of his friend's death, he
wrote: "John was a the prime of life and
was a shining example of true faith."
"His love for fellow human beings was
palpable and expansive," Rabbi Nevins
wrote. "His curiosity about other reli-
gions and cultures and his absolute com-
mitment to serving this community
were extraordinary.
Father West served many Catholic
parishes since he was ordained as a priest
in 1980, but at the time of his death, he
was pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in
Farmington.
Father West had also been a professor
at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in
Orchard Lake, a columnist for the
Michigan Chronicle, spiritual adviser for
the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and a
Catholic ethicist for Angela Hospice
Livonia and Lourdes in Waterford.
Father West is survived by his parents,
Edmund and Maxine West of
Washington Township; brother, Paul
West; sisters, Mary West, Jane Martin,
Ann Grimm and Judith Naber.

Interfaith Friend

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff VVriter

jr

4/21
2005

104

ust hours before his sudden death
on April 14, 2005, Father John
H. West, ecumenical and inter-
faith adviser for Detroit archbishop
Cardinal Adam Maida, was involved in
what he did best.
"He was out there speaking about the
church," said Richard Laskos, public
relations associate for the Archdiocese of
Detroit. "That day, Father West spent
40 minutes on the phone with a
reporter, explaining all about the prepa-
rations Cardinal Maida made before
leaving for Rome (where he is serving as
an elector of the new pope). He always
took the time to explain things very
clearly. It was his style to take the trou-
ble to answer all questions."
And the articulate, friendly and well-
loved priest was frequently called upon
to do just that.
"He regularly answered questions
about activities in the Catholic Church
and about the interfaith activities he was
deeply involved in," Laskos said of
Father West, who died of a heart attack

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