S U IP 10

JAS' Eight Over Eighty honors local heroes.

BILL CARROLL

113

5/ 1 2

2005

26

Fran Aaron

adult children and one grandson.
Aaron is 85 years old, but says, "I feel
Louis Berlin
like I'm 26." She spent 28 years of her
fight octogenarians with
Known as the unofficial "manager,"
life as a special education teacher,
diverse backgrounds and
Berlin, 83, has volunteered at the
working with developmentally dis-
interests, all devoted to chari- abled children in the Farmington,
JARC office for 11 years, taking care
ty work and volunteerism, are the
of the files, organizing the "Tribute"
Madison Heights and Pontiac school
honorees of the Jewish Apartments & districts. She organized many projects,
column of the newsletter, addressing
Services' 2005 Eight Over Eighty
including the introduction of perform- invitations, training new volunteers
awards.
and performing a myriad of duties.
ing arts programs so they could show-
They will be inducted into the
case their talents.
Berlin also delivers Meals on
Senior Adult Jewish Hall of Fame at
Then, she switched gears to help the Wheels, prepares food packages at Yad
a brunch Sunday, May 15, at the
Ezra, and formerly handled the Tallit
elderly by becoming a volunteer at the
Jewish Community Center in West
and Tefillin program for children at
Southfield branch of the Dorothy and
Bloomfield. The eight are Fran
Peter Brown Adult Day Care Program. Adat Shalom Synagogue. He and his
Aaron, Lillian Gold and Norbert
wife, Evelyn, received the Governor's
She started this after her husband,
Reinstein, all of Oak Park; Louis
Honor Roll Award from United Way
Irving, 86, died of complications from
Berlin and Evelyn Noveck, both of
for their JARC activities. They have
Alzheimer's disease in 1995. "I have
Novi; Emanuel "Manny" Mittelman
three children and six grandchildren.
always found it very rewarding to help
and Abe Pasternak, both of
A graduate of Detroit's Murray-
people of all ages with special needs,"
Southfield, and Jack Schon of
Wright High School and Henry Ford
she said. "I try to motivate the resi-
Bloomfield Hills.
Community College with an engineer-
dents to get involved in new activi-
The 12th annual event is the main
ties."
ing degree, Berlin spent 43 years in
JAS fund-raiser of the year, raising
manufacturing engineering at Ford
Fearing the Yiddish language was
money for about one third of the
becoming extinct, Aaron organized the Motor Company before retiring in
nearly 900 JAS residents with incomes Fran Aaron Players in 1997. She has
1984. Most of that time, he supervised
below the federal poverty level. The
an engineering team. He then served
been writing Yiddish plays and songs
proceeds provide food subsidies.
as a consultant to Ford.
and directing productions featuring
"This is a fitting salute to our senior
"I consider myself to be a problem-
Jews ages 70-90. The shows are per-
adult volunteers — our heroes," said
solver and caretaker, and I'm happy to
formed, usually free of charge, before
Pete Wurdock, JAS marketing director.
senior adult and other community
devote my time and skills to whatever
"Every day, senior adults play a vital
project comes up," Berlin said.
groups. With pianist Fran Trager,
role filling the gaps in volunteer service Aaron also leads the music programs
at food banks, schools, soup kitchens
Lillian Gold
with the Brown program.
and other public and private agencies
The only Jewish nurse in the 1940
Born in Brooklyn, Aaron attended
and charitable organizations. Their
University of Michigan School of
the Oakland Training Institute. She
efforts help to build a more welcoming belongs to the Up and Out group of
Nursing graduating class, Gold honed
society."
her nursing skills while taking care of
B'nai B'rith and Temple Beth El and
Here's a closer look at the Eight
wounded World War II veterans at
did storytelling for kindergartners in
Over Eighty honorees:
two U.S. Army base hospitals in the
various school districts. She has two
mid-1940s. She also worked with the

Special to the Jewish News

Red Cross Blood Bank during the war.
This helped prepare her for her work
in the past 25 years with the Michigan
Parkinson's Foundation in Oakland
County, facilitating support groups
and arranging daily programs.
"I just like to keep going," said
Gold, 86, "and I'm a hands-on person;
I like to work one-on-one with the
patients."
She stayed with the organization
after her husband, Ruben, died of
Parkinson's disease at age 81 in 1993.
She has four children and nine grand-
children. Her daughter, Marilyn Gold,
is a Reform rabbi in Israel, where
Lillian has visited eight times.
Gold, who attended Detroit Central
High School, was the third Jewish
nurse to ever graduate from U-M.
Recipient of numerous awards honor-
ing her for her work with the
Parkinson's Foundation, Gold also
belongs to the Jewish War Veterans,
Hadassah, Common Cause and
Planned Parenthood. She is extremely
proud of her membership in Mothers
for Peace.
"After seeing what World War II did
to the boys I took care of in the hospi-
tals, I'm opposed to all wars — the
Vietnam War and the current Iraq
War," she said.

Emanuel ".Manny" Mittelman

A Holocaust survivor, Mittelman, 80,
is the "anchor" for the Jewish commu-
nity around Young Israel of Oak Park.
He arrives at 6 a.m. at the synagogue
to lead the Talmud study group, then
serves as gabbai for the daily services,