Obituaries
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Furniture Giant Aided Community
Esther Aliweiss Ingber
Special to the Jewish News
I
sraelis are sometimes called sabras
— prickly on the outside, soft on the
inside.
The word was tailor-made for Irwin
Kahn, retired chairman of Gardner-White
Furniture — a generous, caring man who
could be brusque, but never offensive.
"When he got through screaming and
yelling, he always gave me what I asked,"
said Emery Klein of Southfield, who solic-
ited Kahn for many good causes over the
years. "He called me his 'most expensive
friend:" Klein chuckled.
Irwin Kahn, 78, of Bloomfield Hills and
Del Ray Beach, Fla., died Feb. 12, 2009, in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a brief illness.
Rabbi Aaron Bergman and Cantor Frank
Lanzkron-Tamarazo of Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills officiated
at Ira Kaufman Chapel. More than 1,000
people attended.
Born May 7, 1930, in Toledo, Ohio, but
raised in Detroit by his parents, Jacob and
Eva, Mr. Kahn graduated from Central
High School and studied two years at
Detroit Institute of Technology. He and
Art Van Elslander, who founded Art Van
Furniture, learned their future business at
Crown Furniture, which dissolved in 1959.
"They were the same age. Art Van
became [Gardner-White's] fierce competi-
tor," said Mr. Kahn's son, Dr. Joel Kahn.
Gardner-White, founded in 1912,
became the Kahn family business in the
early 1950s. Starting at his father's store
on Fort Street, Mr. Kahn expanded the
chain to seven stores and a warehouse in
television and four-color print advertis-
ing." He wrote and planned the stores' ads
for many years.
"I remember the spot he did sawing a
Thomasville table in half to demonstrate
the superior quality of the Gardner-White
product;' Barbara said.
His children never felt
they got short shrift while he
grew the business.
"Dad made time to ...
play and share a laugh;' Marc
recalled. "Dinner time was
always full of interesting
conversation, discussing the
events of the day, politics
and Israel."
A memorable vacation for him was "the
three-day car trip to Florida in 1964, when
we got four flat tires." The seven grand-
children that came later traveled often
with Bubbie and Zaydie, and Mr. Kahn
taught them golf. Another of his pleasures
before experiencing some hearing loss
was playing albums by Theodore Bikel,
Jan Peerce and Shlomo Carlebach.
As he prospered, Mr. Kahn assisted the
Jewish community. He was president of
Hebrew Free Loan Association and chaired
the Mercantile Division of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's Allied
Jewish Campaign. He donated furniture
to the needy and supplied items to rab-
bis and the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Mr. Kahn visited the Jewish state for
family bar mitzvahs and Federation mis-
sions. Asked for a larger financial com-
mitment during the 1973 Yom Kippur
war, "my dad gladly gave and helped the
Detroit community send sorely needed
funds to Israel," Joel said.
When the Kahns were honorees for
Berkley-based Yad Ezra's annual dinner,
his father "threw every ounce of his ener-
gy into fundraising for the kosher food
bank, forcefully shaking down friends and
suppliers, raising the most monies ever
for Yad Ezra and helping so many families
avoid hunger."
Mr. Kahn was able to build Gardner-
White into a big operation, Noor said, but
"the secret of his success was his even
bigger heart."
"You can't go very far in Metro Detroit
without running into a food bank or half-
way house or children's charity that has not
been the beneficiary of Irwin's generosity."
Irwin Kahn is survived by his wife, Ruth
Kahn; daughter and son-in-law, Barbara
and Steve Tronstein; sons and daughters-
in-law, Dr. Marc and Cindy Kahn and Dr.
Joel and Karen Kahn; grandchildren, Beth
and Rachel Tronstein, Jennifer and Emily
Kahn, and Daniel, Jacob and Jessica Kahn;
sister, Rita Muroff; sisters-in-law and
brother-in-law, Ann and Leonard Baruch
and Frances Abelson; and other relatives
and friends. He was the brother-in-law of
the late Hy Muroff.
Interment was at Adat Shalom
Memorial Park. Contributions may be
directed to the Ruth and Irwin Kahn
Scholarship Fund, Hebrew Free Loan,
6735 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Twp.,
MI 48301, www.hfldetroit.org, (248)
723-8184; or Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile
Road, Berkley, MI 48072, www.yadezra.
org, (248) 548-3663. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
seized every opportunity to perform
unselfish acts of kindness and friendship.
She truly was "one of a kind," enriching
the lives of everyone she touched.
Mrs. Bick is survived by
her daughter, Karen Bick of
Dallas, Texas; son and daugh-
ter-in-law, Robert Bick and
Julie Fershtman of Franklin;
granddaughter, Katie Bick of
Franklin; nieces and neph-
ews, Carole and Curt Slotkin
of Bloomfield Hills, Richard
Bick
and Janice Cherkasky of
Franklin; many loving and
devoted other family members and "for-
ever friends."
She was the beloved and devoted
daughter of the late Samuel and the
late Rachel Tankus; sister and sister-in-
law of the late Vera and the late Milton
Cherkasky.
Contributions may be made to
the Detroit Public Library Friends
Foundation (DPLF), 5201 Woodward
Ave., Detroit, MI 48202 or to a char-
ity of one's choice. All DPLF tributes
submitted in memory of Marilyn Bick
will be specially designated to support
the Summer Reading Program and
the Children's Collection at the branch
library that serves the neighborhood
where she joyfully taught for so many
years. Interment at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery in Birmingham. Arrangements
by Dorfman Chapel. ❑
southeast Michigan.
Working 12 hours a day, six days a
week for years to make Gardner-White
a success, Mr. Kahn with his wife, Ruth,
raised three children: Drs. Joel and Marc
Kahn, who never worked in the business,
and Barbara Tronstein, a trained attorney.
She and her husband, Steve,
run the company today.
Ruth was there 30 years.
The former Ruth Kaufman
of Windsor was 16 "when
Sid Bluestone asked my dad
if he wanted to take out his
girlfriend's younger sister;'
said her son Marc. "Ruth had Irwin Kahn
plans with someone else that
night. So my dad found out where this
guy worked, made sure he had to work on
Saturday night, took my mom out instead,
and the rest is history." The Kahns were
married on Dec. 23, 1951.
The Tronsteins spent decades observing
Mr. Kahn's commitment to treating people
fairly and honorably. Many members
of the Gardner-White team have been
together more than 20 years. Barbara said
her dad "attended everyone's wedding,
and when necessary, the funerals."
His loyalty extended to Mr. Paul's res-
taurant, his lunch place for 25 years, where
"he knew the name of every waitress and
busboy."
Tina Noor, president of TVWorks, a busi-
ness associate and friend, said Mr. Kahn
"hired and trained several generations of
successful furniture professionals. He told
his staff: 'Give me results, not excuses:"
Barbara said her dad was "one of the
first merchants in this area to embrace
Longtime Teacher
M
arilyn Bick, 82, of Oak Park
died on Feb. 15, 2009, follow-
ing a courageous battle with
cancer.
Born and raised in Detroit, she gradu-
ated in 1944 from Central High School.
She received her undergraduate degree
and teaching certificate from Wayne State
University and a master's degree from the
Teachers College at Columbia University.
She happily devoted 48 years of her life to
working as an elementary school teacher
and reading specialist.
A strong commitment to social justice
and equality was central to her deci-
sion to focus on working with inner-city
students in the Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and in
the Detroit public school system. Mrs.
Bick was a much beloved teacher. Many
of her former students credit her with
having had a profound influence on
their lives and a significant impact on
their future success. Among
her many teaching hon-
ors, she was recognized by
the Booker T. Washington
Business Association with
an Educator's Achievement
Award in 1989.
Affectionately known by
numerous people as "Aunt
Marilyn
Mary;' she will be remem-
bered for always thinking
about others first and for having a kind,
compassionate and generous heart. She
was well known as a gentle soul who
Obituaries on page C32
February 19 • 2009
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