Obituaries
n this the 8th Anniversary of
Alex's death, we would like
to thank all of you that have
taken part in keeping her memory and
spirit alive—from your participation or
donation to The West Bloomfield Re-
lay for Life--Team Alex--Make A Wish
--Alyn Hospital or your donation to the
Alex Graham Travel and Education Fund at Adat Shalom Syn-
agogue—Your involvement in Hillel Middle School Student
Congress Tzedakeh Project, or the Alex Graham Hillel Intra-
mural Sports Program—at the University of Michigan, Michi-
gan State University and Eastern Michigan University. Through
your continued support, our family has been strengthened
and the world has become a much better place.
Architectural Magic
David Sachs
Senior Copy Editor
W
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Bill, Susie, David, Robyn and Robert Graham
1209690
Tlie
EWIS H6SPICE
& CHAPLAINCY NETWORK -
SALUTES ANOTHER
HOSPICE HERO
2
By writing a check, Jerry Bielfield helped launch
The Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. But becoming
a volunteer for the Network touched his heart and changed
his life.
"He nurtured his passion through volunteer work with
hospice patients," Rabbi E.B. Freedman said of the late
hospice goodwill ambassador. "While he thrived in
business, Jerry found even greater meaning in retirement
through his work as a hospice volunteer. He befriended his
hospice buddies. He listened. He comforted them." Jerry's
wife, Eileen, has continued her late husband's legacy by
generously supporting JHCN programs each year.
Jen7r- mkt Eileen Bielfield
are tuo of the I-1( 'spice Herocs
ensitre
No Jew Is Ever Alone
6555 W. Maple Rd. • West Bloomfield, MI 48322
248.592.2687 • www.jewishhospice.org
*of blessed memory
1208210
Monuments & Markers • Monument Duplicating
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BY: HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL
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82
January 25 • 2007
hen Rabbi Dannel
Schwartz asked con-
gregant Ken Neumann
to design Temple Shir Shalom in
West Bloomfield 15 years ago, the
architect listened intensely to the
rabbi and proceeded to sketch out
on a paper napkin plans for the
intimate circular sanctuary sur-
rounded by a multi-use balcony.
"I wanted this building to be a
jewel, to be timeless," said Rabbi
Schwartz. "He took my words and
made them magic, architecturally.
"Ken knew how to make magic.
God endowed him with that."
On Jan. 19, 2007, cancer
claimed Stuart Kenneth Neumann,
67, of Franklin. Two days later, he
was eulogized by his admiring
rabbi at a funeral service held at
Temple Shir Shalom, the timeless
jewel he had crafted.
Ken left an enormous legacy
across the Detroit Jewish commu-
nity. His spiritual and intellectual
understanding of Jewish life is
infused in all his creations.
In addition to Shir Shalom, Ken
designed Congregation Trial Moshe
and the Jewish Family Service in
West Bloomfield, the Holocaust
Memorial Center in Farmington
Hills, Congregation Shir Tikvah in
Troy, Young Israel of Southfield and
Temple Beth El in Flint.
He also designed renova-
tions to Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield, Adat Shalom
Synagogue and Hillel Day School
in Farmington Hills and the Jewish
Community Center in Oak Park.
He designed the headquarters
for the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit when it took
over a Bloomfield Township office
building and created the Max
Fisher Conference Center therein.
His firm is currently designing
a permanent home for the Frankel
Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit at the JCC in West
Bloomfield.
As principal in charge of design
at his firm, Neumann/Smith
Architecture in Southfield, Ken
created artistry to be found
all over the community. Some
examples are the One Kennedy
Square office building in downtown
Detroit, the New Detroit Science
Center and three buildings at
Wayne State University in the
Cultural Center, and the Warren
Civic Center. He designed the
Galleria Officentre in Southfield 19
years ago before his firm moved in.
A car enthusiast, Ken con-
ceived the racecar-sleek National
Corvette Museum in Bowling
Green, Ky.
"Ken spent his life devoted
to creating beautiful architec-
ture," said sister Ceil Rothbart
of Glencoe, Ill. "I loved his style,
and I loved how he said the word
'beautiful."
Ken strove for creativity and
meaning in his designs. One of
his most controversial was the
Holocaust Memorial Center on
Ken Neumann
Orchard Lake Road, north of 12
Mile. The center — whose outside
walls metaphorically suggest
striped prisoner garb, a crema-
torium chimney and barbed wire
— was designed to command
attention and evoke emotions.
"It's not an easy building, but
it's meant to tell a story," said
Ceil. "It needed to be strong, and
it needed to be big."
Ken was considered to be a
child prodigy. A Chicago native, he
received his bachelor's in archi-
tecture at the University of Illinois
in Chicago and his master's at
Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
He began his professional
career as an architect-planner
with the Detroit City Planning
Commission. His master plan of
Detroit's Cultural Center and cen-
tral city received a National Award
of Honor from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.