Metro
Sam Frankel: Passing Of A Pioneer
1913 - 2008
Passing Of A Pioneer from page A15
"Sam Frankel's amazing commit-
ment to the University of Michigan
has transformed our teaching,
research and health care. In particu-
lar, his generosity in establishing
the Frankel Institute for Advanced
Judaic Studies has greatly enhanced
our ability to explore Jewish cul-
ture. As the patriarch of one of our
-community's most thoughtful and
ivic-minded families, Sam Frankel's
pmt of giving has enlivened all of
, outheastern Michigan."
Mary Sue Coleman, president
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
"Although Samuel Frankel's life
spanned almost the entire 20th
century, he was never a man merely
of his time. Rather, he transcended
his era. Sam Frankel possessed the
,vision to see how he could transform
is love of Jewish learning into a
rogram of Judaic studies so that all
ould benefit.
: "The absence of Jewish studies
- at the University of Michigan when
he attended, or when his children
ttended, did not limit his imagina-
ion or his commitment. Indeed, he
egularly renewed that commitment,
ndowing one of the first chairs in
''*Rabbinic studies at a public uni-
•versity and supporting the study
f Yiddish language and literature,
hich he loved.
"Thus he brought not just the
opportunity to study Judaism,
tJewish history and Jewish culture to
the University of Michigan but also
the possibility of discovering new
ways of studying that would Chang
both academic scholarship and
ewish learning.
, - "He will be sorely missed, but his
legacy will endure for generations."
la
I
.
ii
Deborah Dash Moore, director
Sam Frankel breaks ground for the Meyers & Curtis Jewish Community Center in Detroit, 1957
"When the
opportunity arises
to save something,
you take it."
Samuel and Jean Frankel Center
for Judaic Studies
University of Michigan
Sam Frankel
Ann Arbor
"Sam Frankel was a person of fore-
sight and compassion. His generosi-
ty touched the hundreds of students
for whom he provided tuition as well
les everyone who walks through the
doors of the Troy campus that grew
through his generosity of capital and
real estate."
Stephanie W. Bergeron, president
Walsh College
Troy
A16
April 10 2008
'Uncle Sam'
To Jackier, a past Federation president, Mr. Frankel was "Uncle
Sam."
"He was like my second father, Jackier said. "Whatever he did,
he did it with a twinkle in his eye.
"Sam Frankel was one of those personalities — there are so few
left in the Jewish community — who are bigger than life," Jackier
said. "As great as his kids are, he simply can't be replaced. There's
a famous quote from the Bible, from when Joseph died: 'a piece of
Israel has died today.' That's how I feel about Uncle Sam."
Mr. Frankel was born in Detroit to parents from Gambin, a town
in Poland. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1936
and began his career in the wholesale and retail grocery business.
Among his businesses was the Big Bear Market chain.
Sam Frankel approached everything with enthusiasm and vigor.
"He and his boys would be unloading produce trucks at 4 a.m.,"
Aronson said.
He gradually transitioned into real estate, building the first
Kmart store, the Somerset Mall (later expanded into the Somerset
Collection) and other businesses, many in Troy.
"If there's anybody who made Troy, it's Sam Frankel:' said Doug
Smith, Oakland County's director of economic development who
formerly held a similar job in for Troy.
The alternate name for Big Beaver Road, which runs past
Somerset Mall and numerous other Frankel-developed properties,
is Sam Frankel Way. Mr. Frankel purchased the land and spear-
headed fundraising for Troy's Congregation Shir Tikvah. However,
the only building in the city that bears the Frankel name is the
17,800-square-foot Jean & Sam Frankel Family Boys & Girls Club
of Troy.
Smith, who chaired the organization's capital campaign, remem-
bers Sam Frankel sitting down with the map of Troy, "pointing
out every parcel on both sides of Big Beaver, telling me who he'd
purchased it from."
From 1987 to 1990, Mr. Frankel co-chaired a successful $4.2-
million capital campaign for Walsh College, Michigan's largest
graduate business school. This campaign made possible a 33,000
square-foot addition and 9,000-square-foot renovation of the Troy
campus.
Passing Of A Pioneer on page A18