metro >> that's life

t o Nrs'
e P ag e

oiee .

vc,s-12(

e

10 -
d

o\ tie

.sappy 90th!

..*1%N•

gli er ???1

sera

J

Do you owe the IRS or
State of Michigan?
Are you being Audited?

Lawrence B. Levy

Member National Society of Accounts
& American Society of Tax Problem Solvers

CALL MICHIGAN'S LEADER
IN TAX RESOLUTION

EVY

S

LEVY &ASSOCIATES, INC.
WILL SOLVE YOUR
TAX PROBLEMS!!!

After a long career caring for seniors,
Sylvia Serwin enjoys retirement.

I

Josh Potter

tain that people would listen and heed
her message. But they did, unable to
ignore her knowledge and enthusiasm.
efore completing any formal
By 1989, Serwin foresaw the chang-
education in nursing admin-
ing climate of health insurance and
istration, Sylvia Serwin began
money in the health industry.
a career that spanned four decades
"Somebody who has worked all his
dedicated to Jewish nursing homes in
life can go through savings in no time
Metro Detroit. On April 7, Serwin will
she told the Detroit Jewish News.
celebrate her 90th birthday.
In 1991, Steinberg nominated Sylvia
She started working in the health
for the Berman Award for Outstanding
care industry in 1958 writing grants
Professional Service. When she won,
for the Michigan Heart Association.
it capped a long and treasured career
But her calling was
caring for the area's aging
never toward research
Jews.
There is no break
or bureaucracy. She
in her (handwritten)
remained passionately
resume, written in per-
involved in the lives of
the elders in the homes
fect, flourished cursive,
she oversaw.
covering the years from
In 1960, she took
1958 to 1991.
the helm of Ingleside
Since then, she's
Nursing Home. After
taken only a little
three years there, she
much- deserved time
for herself when not
oversaw the opening of
Sylvia Serw in
the Southfield nursing
dedicating her time to
her family. She became
home that later became
Prentis Manor. Her most impressive
bat mitzvah at the age of 75 at Rabbi
professional accomplishment was in
Groner's Congregation Shaarey Zedek
1966 when she began serving as asso-
in Southfield, where she has been a
ciate director of the Jewish Home for
member for more than 60 years. She
married Morris Serwin during the war
Aged on Petoskey in Detroit. For the
in 1944 and remained happily married
next 25 years, she administered three
different facilities for that organiza-
for 58 years until he passed away in
tion.
2002.
"She was and is, to this day, a very
As a result of sound planning and
sweet lady with a great understanding
good health, she still lives indepen-
of the needs of elderly people sa Bob
dently. Some years ago, she moved
Steinberg, who served on the board of
out of her Southfield home and chose
JHA during Serwin's tenure.
to live comfortably in a condo in
Farmington Hills near her son Jeffrey
Serwin was hired, Steinberg recalls,
both because of her experience and
and daughter Suzanne who both
still live in Metro Detroit. From her
her innate ability to bridge the gap
between residents and staff.
window, she enjoys a large pond with
"The residents were made to feel
ducks ("katchkes") that gather there.
that they were not institutionalized:'
It is a short drive to the Holocaust
he said. "Sylvia and her colleagues
Museum and to lectures sponsored by
always worked to make the people feel
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
that they just had a different home:'
Detroit, which she attends regularly
with friends and family.
In the middle of a tumultuous year
for Detroit, 1967, a national guards-
She is the heart and matriarch of
man stopped her on her way to work
her family. Her grandsons, Joshua and
at the Jewish Home for Aged in the
Benjamin, are both young profession-
inner city. He warned her of snipers
als. Benjamin lives in the area and
on rooftops during the civil unrest that Joshua left for a career in journalism
plagued the city. Serwin brushed him
on the West Coast after college.
off and drove past a barricade telling
"Looking back on it," Serwin says,
the men, "I have 212 elderly patients
"I did have quite a career. I did the
to care for:'
best I could for as long as I possibly
In 1970, she completed a nursing
could:'
home administration certification pro-
gram at Michigan State University. As
Joshua Potter is Sylvia Serwin's very
a woman and a Jew, she was not cer-
proud grandson.

Special to the Jewish News

B

ti

BBB.
IMES

We are a Michigan based
Corporation.

We have successfully represented
thousands of Corporations and
Individuals throughout the country.

28400 Southfield Rd. I Southfield, MI 48076 1248.557.4048 • Fax 248.443.1642 I
Toll Free 888.411.LEVY (5389)1 www.levytaxhelp.com

DESIGNS IN DECORATOR WOOD & LAMINATES, LTD.

It Doesn't

Have

To Cost

A fortune...

Only Look

Like It!

Complete kitchen and

bathroom remodeling

as well as furniture

design and installations

including granite, wood

and other materials.

Lois Haron Allied Member ASID 248.851.6989

Our programs include:
- Childrens & Family Martial Arts programs
- A+ After School Program w/ Transport
- Adults Martial Arts (12 & up)
- Spring Break / Summer Camps

Two West Bloomfield Locations!
7355 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield

Jewish Community Center,
West Bloomfield (New Location!)
6600 W. Maple Rd., West Bloomfield

❑

Mention this ad and receive:
2 Private Lessons ($100 Value)
and a FREE Uniform ($50 Value)

Space is limited. Call Today!

(248) 706-0000

www.vortexmartialarts.com

1791860

12

April 4 • 2013