Obituaries

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Outer And Inner Beauty

David Sachs

Senior Copy Editor

I

n the early 1970s, Frieda Goldman,
a widowed business owner in her
mid-40s, was passing through a
Southfield restaurant near her home. The
restaurant's owner intercepted her — he
had someone he wanted her to meet.
The restaurateur led the lovely Frieda to
the table of the debonair Jewish News col-
umnist Danny Raskin — who happened
to have just lit up one of his trademark
long cigars. As the tall Danny rose to greet
the statuesque former model, he slid the
band off his cigar and onto Frieda's ring
finger, declaring, "Now we're engaged."
"Later, they were wed in a ceremony
at which my father, of blessed memory,
officiated:' said Rabbi Daniel Syme of
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township
in Frieda's eulogy this week, referring to
the late Rabbi M. Robert Syme of West
Bloomfield's Temple Israel.
"Thus began the beautiful marriage
of two beautiful people that extended
almost 36 years:' said the rabbi.
Danny and Frieda traveled together, on
Caribbean cruises, to California, to Israel
— and, of course, to Las Vegas, where
Danny enjoyed the restaurants and the

shows and Frieda loved playing blackjack
and shooting craps.
"They went to the theater and concerts,
and they went to more black-tie social
events in one year than many of us attend
in a lifetime noted Rabbi Syme. "They
loved to dance in one another's arms
— so much in love."
And Danny and Frieda's
whirlwind romance con-
tinued until her death
on Jan. 1, 2010. The West
Bloomfield resident, whose
health had been declining
in recent months, was 82.
Alfrieda "Frieda" Van
Haverbeck was born in
Detroit in 1927. She helped
pay her way though beauty
Frieda Raskin
college by modeling high-
fashion clothing. She
graduated with high honors and opened
her own salon in the Fort Wayne Hotel in
downtown Detroit. Over the course of 15
years, it grew into three locations, includ-
ing the LaSalle Salon at Seven Mile and
Schaefer. She was wed to Harold Goldman
for 11 years until his death in 1964.
As a widow, she joined Winldeman's
department stores, to initiate its wig
department. Her reputation grew, and

after five years, she started her own wig
business — and later, with daughter Pam,
her own jewelry business.
Her husband, Danny, who celebrated
his 90th birthday last year, continues to
serve the Jewish News as restaurant and
society columnist, as he has since the
paper's inception 68 years ago.

'A Sweet Person'
Frieda supported animal
rescue societies and adored
her own dogs, Coco and Gigi.
She loved to play Bingo, and
was considered a world-class
shopper, especially when with
her sister Jeanette Epstein.
"We were so close, and
Frieda was such a sweet per-
son:' said Jeanette. "We were
closer than sisters — we
were truly friends."
"Frieda was smart:' noted Rabbi Syme.
"She was a woman of inner strength and
optimism — one who always seemed to
know exactly the right thing to say.
"And with her outgoing personality, her
great sense of humor, her love of people
and entertaining, Frieda drew many oth-
ers to her."
For Frieda, family was central to her

very being. Between her children, Pam,
Gregory and Lary, and Danny's son Scott,
she cherished the blended families.
"Frieda loved life with a passion:' said
Rabbi Syme. "This woman with a heart
of gold, with both outer and inner beauty
— she lived large with laughter and with
family.
"She was indeed one of those rare indi-
viduals who keep our world fresh, vibrant
and new."
Frieda Raskin is survived by her hus-
band, Danny Raskin; daughter, Pamela
Smith; sons and daughter-in-law, Gregory
and Elizabeth Smith, Lary Goldman;
Danny's son and daughter-in-law, Scott
and Bonnie Raskin; grandchildren,
Bradford Smith, Kelsey, Devin and
Shoshona Smith, Sean Goldman, Heather
Buschmann, Matthew and Hannah
Raskin; sister, Jeanette Epstein.
She was the wife of the late Harold
Goldman and the loving sister of the late
Mary Stanek and the late Michael Van
Haverbeck.
Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
Kidney Foundation of Michigan, 1169 Oak
Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, www.
nkfm.org or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

move to Michigan to be near Lily and her
new family.
Linder acclimated quickly, learning to
drive and teaching herself English, which
became her seventh language. She trav-
eled to Paris and New York to relearn her
mother's vocation and then
returned to realize her dream
of opening her own day spa,
the first of its kind in Metro
Detroit. With the help of her
husband, who had worked
for the cosmetics company
Helene Curtis in Israel, and
her daughter and son-in-law,
Linder's vision came to life.
Mira Linder's Spa in the City,
located in Applegate Square in
Southfield, was the place where
local socialites came to be seen and to be
pampered. Linder trained her staff, which
included many Russian immigrants,
in the art of skin care using the latest
European products and techniques.
Linder's belief that women could be
beautiful at any age was exemplified by
the book she wrote when she was 68
years old; Beauty Begins at Sixty: The Best

is Yet to Come: A New Age Beauty and
Health Workbook for the Dynamic New
Time of Your Life. Published in 1989, the
book was co-written by Linder and the
late Suzanne Kennedy Flynn, an editor for
Harper's Bazaar.
"My mother taught me that there's
always a way out; don't take no for an
answer," said Lily. "She was a real survivor,
a very glamorous and memorable person."
Linder is survived by her daughter
and son-in-law, Lily Alexander and
Dr. Waldemar Pruzanski of Toronto;
grandchildren Margaret (Ron) Riley
and Katherine (David) Daniels, also of
Toronto; and great-grandchildren David
and Alec Riley and Madeline and Jasper
Daniels.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Donations may be made
to Jewish Family Services Fund for
Holocaust Survivors, 14041 Icot
Boulevard, Clearwater, FL, 33760, (727)
479 1800, www.gcjfs.org or the Baycrest
John Alexander Foundation, 3560
Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, M6A 2E1,
(416) 785-2875, www.baycrest.org/donate .
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

❑

Her Spa In The City

Ronelle Grier

Special to the Jewish News

F

rom a Siberian prison camp to
the elegant salons of Paris and
New York, the story of skin care
doyenne Mira Linder reads like a Russian
novel. Her life, which was marked by trag-
edy, drama, extraordinary courage and
enduring love, came to an end on Dec. 30,
2009. She was 88.
The saga began in the small Polish
town of Gostynyn, near Warsaw, where
Mira and her brother, David, were born
to Sara and Zelig Godes. Zelig, was a
self-taught architect; but it was Sara,
an aesthetician known throughout the
community as an artful practitioner of
European skin care, who most influenced
her daughter's future career.
As the two worked side-by-side, Sara
dreamed of sending her daughter to
Belgium to study pharmacology. But her
plans were thwarted by World War II and
the Nazi occupation of Poland. Sara and
Zelig, who were later killed during the
Warsaw Ghetto uprising, arranged for their
children and several other family members

54

January 7 • 2010

JN

to go to Russia for safety. Instead, the beau-
tiful 18-year-old Mira was treated as an
enemy and sent to a Siberian labor camp.
In his eulogy, Rabbi Daniel Syme of
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township
said it was there that Mira's spirit was
strengthened and her iron
will was forged.
The bright spot in the
Siberian darkness was
David Linder, whose job it
was to deliver mail to the
prisoners. He came across a
lovely young woman chop-
ping wood and offered to
give her a letter from her
parents in exchange for
Mira Linder
a kiss. The two prisoners
formed a strong bond; and
after their release, they moved to the USSR,
where they began a marriage that lasted
until David's death 34 years later.
After the birth of their daughter, Lily, the
Linders moved back to Poland and then to
Israel, living in a tent until the family got
established. After Lily left Israel with her
husband, native Detroiter John Alexander,
to Detroit, David and Mira decided to

Obituaries

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