The Chapel
that recognizes
each family's individual needs.
MARIANNE
REINSTEIN, 91, of
Oak Park, died Feb.
26, 2009.
She is survived
by her daughter and
son-in-law, Gladys
and Larry Rockind
Reinstein
of West Bloomfield;
son and daughter-in-law, Mark and
Anne Reinstein of Ann Arbor; grand-
children, Neil (Karen) Rockind, Sandy
Rockind, Carin Rockind, Joel Reinstein
and Elizabeth Reinstein; great-grand-
children, Aliya, Harley and Jaden.
Mrs. Reinstein was the beloved wife
of the late Norbert Reinstein; sister of
the late Karl Bauer.
Interment at the Hebrew Memorial
Park Cemetery in Mt. Clemens.
Contributions may be made to Yad
Ezra or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
RONALD JAY
SILBERMAN, 68, of
Birmingham, died
Feb. 24, 2009.
He is survived
by his beloved wife,
Marilynn Silberman;
son and daughter-in-
Silberman
law, Scott and Laura
Silberman of Bloomfield Hills; daugh-
ters and sons-in-law, Stacy and Robert
Goodman of Birmingham, Megan
and John Male of West Bloomfield;
grandchildren, Allie, Jack and Ben
Silberman, Annie and Eli Goodman,
Hannah and Jami Male; mother-in-
law, Gloria Portney; many other loving
family members and friends.
Mr. Silberman was the dear brother
of the late Ina Portney Kadish.
Interment at the Adat Shalom
Memorial Park in Livonia.
Contributions may be made to the
Botsford Hospital Cancer Center
or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
DR. FRED
SOMKIN, 84, a
longtime resident
of Ithaca, N.Y.,
died at his home
Feb. 1, 2009, after
a long battle with
Parkinson's disease.
Somkin
Born May 12,
1924, in Detroit, he was the young-
est of Ben and Anna Somkin's four
children.
Fred earned his B.A. degree in
English from Wayne University in
1946. Asked to leave Georgetown
Law because he didn't attend classes
(exclaiming, "I learned more about
law in yeshivah!"); he, neverthe-
less, earned his LL.B. degree from
Columbus Law School in 1952. He
served in the U.S. Army during World
War II and in its reserves from 1949
to 1953.
From 1952 to 1959, Fred engaged
in the practice of law in Washington,
D.C. He was a member of the bars
of the District of Columbia, the
state of New York, the U.S. Supreme
Court, the U.S. Court of Claims and
the U.S. Court of Military Appeals.
He appeared as counsel before the
McCarthy Committee and was final
appellate counsel for the penultimate
capital defendant in D.C.
Through his practice of law, Fred
met Bodil Hammergaard, an archi-
tect who had served as an apprentice
of Frank Lloyd Wright from 1950 to
1954. Fred and Bodil were married in
Washington in April 1959.
Fred held a great interest in
American history. He earned both an
M.A. (American University, 1962) and
a Ph.D. (Cornell University, 1967) in
the subject. He taught American his-
tory at Queen's University (Kingston,
Ontario) and at Harvard University
before joining the faculty of Cornell
in 1968 as associate professor of
American cultural-intellectual history.
Dr. Somkin was named professor in
1991 and emeritus professor upon his
retirement in 1994.
Along with history, Fred was pas-
sionate about music, English literature
and poetry. He was famous among his
friends for recognizing the origins of
even the most obscure quotations. Dr.
Somkin authored two major works:
Unquiet Eagle: Memory and Desire in
the Idea of American Freedom, 1815-
1860 (1967) and How Vanzetti Said
Goodbye (1982).
Fred was predeceased by his
beloved wife, Bodil, and his three
sisters, Fay (Mrs. Nathan Kapetansky)
of Oak Park and Lake Worth, Fla.,
Marjorie (Mrs. Robert Brock) of
Beverly Hills, Calif., and Mona
Somkin of Oak Park. He is survived
by many nieces and nephews and by
his fiancee Lily Inglis of Kingston,
Ont., Canada. Lily had been one of
Fred's many friends from his years at
Queen's University.
Interment in Ithaca, N.Y.
Contributions to a charity of your
choice in Fred's memory would be
appreciated by his family.
Obituaries on pageC34
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sensitive services.
Associated with all cemeteries.
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Funeral Director
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ebrew
emonal
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Funeral Director
From Generation to Generation
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