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Bill's Dreams from page 11
"I admire Karen for many reasons, but
mainly because she is completely devoted
to Bill's memory."
— Mary Petrovich, West Bloomfield
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Converted To Judaism
Karen and Bill met on a blind date
and were married by a judge. It was
his fourth marriage. She converted
to Judaism afterward. "I am a Jew by
choice she said. She held a Torah on
the bimah at the start of Kol Nidre
services at Shaarey Zedek two weeks
ago.
Married for 14 years, they traveled
extensively and spent a lot of time at
a huge vacation home in Snowmass,
Colo.
"It was fun to travel with him
because he was recognized in many
parts of the world; people would stop
by our restaurant table and ask him for
an autograph:"
Despite the flurry of activity on
her many business and philanthropic
endeavors, Karen enjoys labeling her-
self as "just a housewife."
"People sort of look surprised and
chuckle when I say that at meetings,
but it's true she said.
She has three children, two step-
children, four grandchildren, four
step-grandchildren, a house here, the
house in Snowmass and a New York
City apartment. One of Ethan's sons,
William Zev Davidson, is named after
Bill.
*Devoted To Bill's Memory'
(At 14 Mile Rd. in the Broadway Plaza)-,
Daniel
Stylist • Colorist
(Formerly of Lance Vincent Salon)
Has moved to:
6652 Telegraph (at Maple)
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301 (248)626-3700
12
October 11 ' 2012
"I admire Karen for many reasons,
but mainly because she is completely
devoted to Bill's memory," said Mary
Petrovich of West Bloomfield, who is
Karen's golfing partner at Franklin Hills
Country Club. They met while making
philanthropic arrangements for their
respective families at U-M. Petrovich
is an adviser to the Carlyle Group, a
nationally known private equity firm.
"Karen is the most humble, least
pretentious, intelligent, down-to-
earth person I've ever met; she's just a
smart, engaging woman with strong
Midwestern values," Petrovich said.
Adds another friend, Judi Schram of
Bloomfield Hills: "Among other things,
I admire Karen for her insatiable
appetite for information, her breadth
of knowledge, and for her continued
interest in and commitment to the
many things she came to appreciate
through Bill."
Karen spends most of the summer
at the Snowmass estate, which has
10,000 square feet of space and eight
bedrooms on 10 acres. "The place has
everything but a post office she said
with a smile. "It's especially fun to be
there in August when many celebri-
ties and philanthropists arrive to hang
out. Our relatives and friends are in
the house all of the time. One night, 22
people slept over; we couldn't find one
kid for quite a while."
*Flunks' As Pistons Owner
Karen grimaces when the conversa-
tion turns to basketball. Bill bought the
Pistons for $6 million in 1974, and his
succession plan made her the owner
when he died.
"I give myself the grade of 'F' as an
owner;' she admitted.
What would Bill have thought of the
team's poor record, coaching changes
and other travails after his death? "He
always had a lot of patience, especially
in bad times," Karen answered.
"But, after all, I was spending around
$79 million in one year to run the
team, with players' salaries, staff and so
forth. And some players weren't even
breaking a sweat during a game. The
fans know who they are."
Karen says the interesting part of
being an owner was attending NBA
owners meetings "with 29 billionaires
in the same room, who really didn't
want to be there; they were always
talking on the phone about their other
businesses," she recalled.
Retaining a partial financial interest
in the Pistons, she sold the team and
the entire Palace Sports Entertainment
empire for a reported $340 million to
yet another billionaire for the NBA,
Tom Gores ($2.5 billion), chairman of
Platinum Equity in California. He's a
Palestinian, born in Israel, but came to
Michigan as a youngster.
Karen became aware later of allega-
tions that some Gores family mem-
bers reportedly had made anti-Israel
and pro-Hamas remarks, but "Tom
was a pleasure to deal with," she
stressed.
"He's energetic, determined and is
dedicated to the team. And he'll be
making some changes. He's a 'bottom-
line' guy who wants quick results."
With a new basketball season get-
ting under way soon, she'll be back in
the familiar seats she and Bill shared at
the Palace; under the basket near the
Pistons bench.