LEO E. ASH, 92, of Detroit, died
July 30, 2005. He was the owner of
Ash Paint and Wallpaper in Detroit
and moved in the
1980s to Bloomfield
Hills. He was also in
the Army Air Corps
during World War
II, was a Mason, a
member of B'nai
B'rith and a member
of Temple Israel.
Mr. Ash is sur-
Ash
vived by his daughter
and son-in-law,
Valerie Ash and John Krieger; son
and daughter-in-law, Dr. Kenneth Ash
and Dr. Patricia Heu. He was the
beloved husband of the late Cecille
Ash.
Interment at Beth El Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
the Alzheimer's Association or to a
charity of one's choice. Arrangements
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
FRANCES BINDER, 83, of
Southfield, died July 26, 2005.
She is survived by her sister, Harriet
Kelmer of Jenkentown, Pa.; nephews
and nieces, Steven and Lisa Kelmer,
Allen and Dawn Kelmer, Scott and
Shelly Kelmer, Ronnie and Diane
Kelmer; friends, Viola Liebertz, Cindy
Moss. Mrs. Binder was the beloved
wife of the late Harry Binder.
Contributions may be made to a
charity of one's choice. Services and
interment were held at Machpelah
Cemetery in Ferndale. Arrangements
by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
MARILYN S. BREITER, 55, of
Bloomington, Ind., formerly of Ann
Arbor, died July 24, 2005. She was
born in Detroit, raised there and
attended the University of Michigan,
where she received her bachelor of arts
in English language and literature. She
went on to receive her master of arts
in English literature from Indiana
University and was the marketing
manager at the Indiana University
Press since the late 1970s.
While living with her family in Ann
Arbor from 1984-1993, Mrs. Breiter
worked as a publicist at the U of M
School of Music.
She is survived by her husband,
Donald Breiter of Bloomington; chil-
dren, Kate Breiter Uslan and Eytan
Uslan of Charlotte, N.C., Elena
Breiter and Josh Halterman of
Bloomington; mother, Dorothy
Saulles of Farmington Hills; brother
and sister-in-law and family, Howard
and Lisa Saulles and Ariel and Daniel
of Ann Arbor; mother-in-law, Pauline
Breiter of Bloomington; brother-in-
law, Dennis Breiter of Houston, Texas.
Interment at the Vahalla Memorial
Gardens in Bloomington.
Contributions may be made to the
Olcott Center for Cancer Education,
619 W. 1st St., Bloomington, IN
47401 or to the Beth Shalom
Congregation, R O. Box 6835,
Bloomington, IN 47401. This notice
was placed at the request of the family
by Doifilian Chapel.
MURIEL CONN, 86, of Los Angeles,
died July 30, 2005.
She us survived by her nieces,
Joanne (Roger) Hillman of Kirkland,
Wash., and Enid Glazman of E.
Hartford, Conn. She was the dear sis-
ter of the late Barbara Conn.; daugh-
ter of the late Samuel and Jenny
Conn.
Interment at the Adat Shalom
Memorial Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to a char-
ity of one's choice. Arrangements by
Doifinan Chapel.
GREGORY DIKKER, 69, of Royal
Oak, died July 25, 2005.
He is survived by his sister, Liza
Dikker of New York; three nieces;
friend, Yuri Urikh of Oak Park.
Interment at Hebrew Memorial
Park. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
EVELYN DITKOFF, 91, of West
Bloomfield, died Aug. 1, 2005. She
was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
She married her
childhood sweet-
heart, Frank Ditkoff,
on July 4, 1936, and
remained married
for 55 years until his
death in 1992. Mrs.
Ditkoff was an
accomplished pianist Ditkoff
and a lover of all
types of music.
She worked for 14 years as a secre-
tary. An avid reader, she often read
two or three novels a week and was
known for her wonderful command of
the English language, as well as
Yiddish_She often volunteered at the
West Bloomfield Library and was a
prize winning artist for her needle-
point art.
Mrs. Ditkoff had a way with small
children and taught them about
nature and to love reading and learn-
ing.
She is survived by her son and
daughter-in-law, Dr. Thomas and
Linda Ditkoff of Bloomfield Hills;
daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and
Vern Busch of N. Vancouver, British
Columbia, Catherine Ditkoff and
Mike Gilmore of Seattle, Wash.;
brother and sister-in-law, Earl and
Sandy Sherman of Las Vegas, Nev.; sis-
ter, Freda Landen of Farmington Hills;
grandchildren, Dr. Howard Ditkoff,
Dr. Jeffrey Ditkoff and Anna Busch.
She was the beloved wife of the late
Frank Ditkoff; sister of the late Ruth
Jacobs, Carl Sherman and Leo
Sherman.
Interment at the Adat Shalom
Memorial Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to the
Beaumont Hospice Fund, 1200
Stephenson Highway, Troy, MI 48098
or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
MARIA EDITH FREIBERG, 62, of
Santa Cruz, Calif, formerly of
Colorado, Arizona and Michigan, died
July 22, 2005, in San Francisco. She
was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
and received her bachelor of arts in
psychology from University of Buenos
OBITS
on page 90
Tales To Share
in as their own a teenage boy whose
parents
had died. Richard made sure
Copy Editor
that the teen was made to feel part of
ichard Berg loved to tell sto- the Berg family, which then included
two sons and one daughter. The
ries to people of all ages.
Bergs had previous contact
His stories often
with the boy's father but
dealt with those struggling
were not close friends,
with their faith.
Elissa said.
Other tales would chron-
Mr. Berg was a life insur-
icle his family history.
ance
agent for 30 years,
That hobby and avoca-
entering the field after
don was inspired years ago
graduating EMU with a
through his wife Fiissa's
bachelor's degree in history.
involvement with the
In recent years, Mr. Berg
Coalition for the
had
considered blending
Advancement of Jewish
his
storytelling
talents into
Education. She is education
a
new
career.
"Everyone
and youth director at Adat
encouraged him to move
Richard Berg
Shalom Synagogue-in
into education," his wife said.
Farmington Hills.
Richard Berg is survived
Besides his storytelling, Mr. Berg
by his wife, Elissa; daughter and son-
was active at Congregation Beth
Shalom in Oak Park, serving as presi- in-law, Franki and Jeff Bagdade of
Berkley; sons, Joshua Berg, Zachary
dent for two years when the syna-
Berg
and Ben Michalson, all of West
gogue underwent its first renovation.
Bloomfield; parents, Betty and
A Beth Shalom member for 30 years,
he served on many of its committees. Sidney Berg of Florida; brothers and
sisters-in-law, Robert and Gina Berg
Mr. Berg, 53, of West Bloomfield,
of West Bloomfield, Gary and
died July 29, 2005, of heart failure.
Carolyn Berg of Bloomfield Hills;
He had been ill for several months.
mother-in-law,
Lean Baum.
Born in Detroit, Mr. Berg was
Mr.
Berg
was
the dear son-in-law
raised in Southfield and graduated
of the late Fred Baum.
Southfield High School and Eastern
Interment was at Machpelah
Michigan University
Cemetery. Contributions may be
Elissa remembers her husband's
sense of humor and his "need to take sent to Congregation Beth Shalom,
14601 W. Lincoln, Oak Park, MI
care of the world" as well as his "gen-
48237.
Arrangements by Ira
erosity to those in need."
Kaufman
Chapel. 0
That generosity was reflected six
years ago when he and his wife took
LEONARD POGER
R
8/ 4
2005
89