Obituaries

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Goodwill And Enlightenment

V

ictor Ross,

97, of Southfield,
died Dec. 4, 2010.
He arrived at Ellis Island from
Bulgaria on July 4, 1931, at age 18. It was
the second immigration in his short life,
having left Russia with his family in 1919
for Bulgaria to escape the Communists.
His father decided to leave Bulgaria in
1931 in the belief that the Communists
would eventually control Bulgaria (not
realizing the Nazis would come first).
He believed Victor and his daughter
Bella would have better opportunities in
America despite the country's descent
into the Great Depression.
Entering this country without any
money or knowledge of the language,
Victor quickly learned English and
entered Wayne State University, where
he earned a B.A. and a master's degree
in comparative literature. A passionate
student of literature and philosophy, he
hoped to earn a Ph.D. at the University
of Wisconsin and become a college pro-
fessor. However, when his father could
find no work in depressed Detroit, Victor
joined him in starting Ross Chemical, a
small company manufacturing glue and
other adhesives. Despite years of initial
setbacks and hardship, Ross Chemical

GLEN BASSIRPOUR, 35, of Farmington
Hills, died Nov. 29, 2010.
He was a loving son, brother, nephew,
cousin and friend.
He is survived by his father, Ali
Bassirpour; mother, Dana Memran; broth-
er and sister-in-law, Michael and Gillian
Bassirpour; aunt and uncle, Michelle
and Steven Kirsch, and their daughter
Elizabeth; uncle, Michael Werber and his
son, Jonathan. He is also survived by other
loving family and friends.
Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to Jewish
Federation, 6735 Telegraph Road,
Suite 260, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

HANNAH BLEIWAS, 78,
of Farmington Hills, died
Dec. 5, 2010.
She is survived by
her husband, Abraham
Bleiwas; daughter and
son-in-law, Gloria and
Charles Dreyfus of
Randolph, N. J., and
Howard and Jean Bleiwas of Novi; grand-
children, Lauren and Nathan Dreyfus.
Mrs. Bleiwas was the beloved daughter

grew into a successful enterprise by the
1950s.
Victor met Alice Ronis at Wayne State,
and they married in 1940 — a mar-
riage that lasted 70 years. Three children,
Douglas, Laura, and
Robert, were born over the
next nine years.
Even as his business
consumed so much of
his energy and time,
Victor never lost his
interest in the broader
world and his commit-
ment to make it better.
A self-described "child
of the Enlightenment,"
Victor Ross
he believed that reason
c. 1965
offered the only hopeful
path for a mankind too
often rent by powerful tides of emotion,
violence and hate. He became an active
Zionist, giving generously to AIPAC and
other Jewish organizations and causes.
One of his proudest accomplishments,
reflecting his ability to combine recogni-
tion of the hard realities of Israel's sur-
vival with his hope that reason and good-
will could produce a better future, was
the founding of the Jewish-Arab Friends

organization in Detroit. Co-founded with
several Arab American and Jewish col-
leagues, Jewish-Arab Friends focused
on pursuing the common interests both
communities shared in Metro Detroit.
In the late Rabbi
Sherwin Wine and at the
Birmingham Temple,
Victor found a philo-
sophical soul mate. Like
Rabbi Wine, he care-
fully described himself
as a religious agnostic,
accepting that a divine
first cause might exist,
but seeing little empirical
evidence of a divine hand
in the daily events of man.
He believed that we were
each fully responsible for
what we did and the quality of our com-
munities.
Victor was a committed Democrat. He
believed his growing affluence should
not effect his political positions. He
argued that people in his economic situ-
ation should not receive Social Security
so those in need could receive more. His
position on taxes was always grounded
in his views of social justice, not self-

of the late Harry and the late Gilda Cane;
cherished sister of the late Bruno Cane.
Interment at Hebrew Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
Angela Hospice, 14100 Newburgh Road,
Livonia, MI 48154, www.angelahospice.
org, or Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2265
Livernois, Suite 240, Troy, MI 48083,
www.cff.org . Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.

DORIS FELDMAN, 90, of Southfield,
died Nov. 28, 2010.
She is survived by her son, Dr. James
Feldman; daughter, Dr. Terri Feldman;
grandchildren, Daniel Feldman,
Benjamin Feldman, Allison Feldman,
Michael (Andrea) Feldman, Tzipi
(David) Schneider, Jennifer (Alex)
Altberg, Maren Fischer and Evan
Fischer; great-grandchildren, Nava
Schneider, Avi Schneider and Eloise
Feldman; dear brother, Bert Snitman;
other loving family and friends.
Mrs. Feldman was the beloved wife of
the late Dr. Manuel Feldman; cherished
mother of the late Dr. Clark Feldman.
Interment at Beth Moses Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to Alpha
Omega Dental Fraternity, 6600 W. Maple
Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, or
Adat Shalom Synagogue, Dr. Manuel
Feldman Beth Achim Hebrew School
Fund, 29901 Middlebelt, Farmington
Hills, MI, 48334, www.adatshalom.org .
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

ARON W. FEDER, 95, former Detroiter of
Chicago, died Nov. 25, 2010.
He is survived by his beloved wife
of 65 years, Vera; loving children, Eva
Reymer (Arnold) and Felicia; cherished
grandchildren, Rachel Keating (Todd)
and Michelle Reymer; great-grandchild,
Lily Keating; nephews, nieces, great-
nephews and great-nieces, Joe (Betty),
Steve (Kathy), Carol Ann Levis, and their
children, Aliza, Zoe, David and Alex.
Mr. Feder was the brother of the late
Jack and late Pincus Feder.
Services were held at Shalom Memorial
Funeral Home in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Interment at Shalom Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made to the Illinois
Holocaust Museum & Education Center,
9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077.

RICHARD FENSTER, 52, of Bloomfield
Hills, died Dec. 5, 2010.
He was the data quality manager for
Acxiom Corporation.

Obituaries

interest. This conviction that good people
do what they believe is right regardless
of their narrow personal interests and his
absolute views regarding matters of ethics
and truth were passed on to his children.
In his autobiography (urged on him
by his children), Victor wrote lovingly
of his wife, Alice, saying, "her support
helped tremendously during the difficult
periods of my life" and that she was the
foundation for the rich and satisfying
life he had lived. He generously sup-
ported each of his children through the
various challenges and projects of their
adult lives, always saying "yes" to each of
their requests.
He was a very loving grandfather,
regularly questioning Mitchell, Doug,
Julie, Gabrielle and Jordan about their
lives and plans, coming to their perfor-
mances and contributing to their college
educations. Sadly, as dementia marked
his final few years, he never got to know
his great-grandchildren — Leo, Tobias,
Meriam and Jocelyn.
Victor Ross lived a full, rich and long
life. All of those who loved him will miss
him greatly.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.

❑

Mr. Fenster is sur-
vived by his wife,
Susan Fenster; chil-
dren, Matt and Dana
Fenster; mother, Lillian
Fenster; brother and
sister-in-law, Buddy
and Rose Fenster; sister
Fenster
and brother-in-law,
Sonya and Raymond Kurzweil; sister-
in-law and brother-in-law, Marilyn and
Howard Karfeld; mother-in-law, Sally
Heiser; many loving nieces, nephews and
friends.
He was the beloved son of the late
David Fenster; dear brother-in-law of the
late James Heiser; loving son-in-law of
the late Sanford Heiser.
Interment at Oakview Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to St. John
Providence Hospice, 37650 Garfield,
Clinton Township, MI 48036, www.
stjohn.org/foundation; Melanoma
Research Foundation, 170 Township
Line Road, Building B, Hillsborough,
NJ, 08844, www.melanoma.org ; or
Orchards Children's Services, 30215
Southfield Road, Southfield, MI 48076.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Obituaries on page 74

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