obituaries
Embracing Life With Curiosity And Gusto
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
S of Panush, inventor, author,
teacher, devoted husband, father,
grandfather and great-grandfa-
ther, passed away on May 6, 2014, in his
Farmington Hills home surrounded by his
loving family. He was 94.
Sol was born in the small Polish village
of Sczuczin in 1919, where he
slept on the stove top in the
family's single-room home
to keep warm. When anti-
Semitism in Poland began to
mount, Sol's father came to
the United States to pave the
way for the rest of the family.
Five years later, he sent
for his wife and three sons;
they arrived on Ellis Island
in 1929, just before the Great
Depression. He later learned
Sol Panush
that 83 of the family mem-
bers who stayed in Poland,
including his grandparents, were killed by
the Nazis.
Despite the hard economic times, Sol
fell in love with his new country, embrac-
ing sports, music and the arts with curios-
ity and gusto. He played baseball, piano
and violin. He won a city-wide contest as a
member of the debate team and started a
chess and harmonica club at school.
"Life in America was, for him, the grand
stage where he could express his dramatic
self," said his daughter Sharon Hochman,
who spoke at the funeral service.
He learned the meaning of doing good
deeds by helping his father (who sup-
ported the family by giving bar mitzvah
lessons to local students) collect pledges
for the Jewish Welfare Federation. He
attended Wayne State University and used
his proclivity for science to become a
chemical engineer.
During World War II, Sol became a
Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps and
eventually joined the Flying Tigers, a vol-
unteer corps whose duty was to protect
China from the Japanese. He was put in
charge of communications with a second-
ary job in chemical engineering.
In 1942, he married Sylvia Logan, whom
he had met as a young teen and admired
from afar until he finally got the nerve to
ask her for a date. They were separated
during the war, writing lengthy letters in
their own special code words
to express their loving feel-
ings. Until Sylvia's death in
2001, they shared a partner-
ship that included raising four
children and a life filled with
family, friends and everlasting
romance.
"He was the realist, and she
was the dreamer," said Rabbi
Joseph Krakoff of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, who officiated
at the funeral service.
As a chemical engineer for
Inmont Corporation, which
later became BASF, Sol published hun-
dreds of patents, supervised a laboratory,
wrote articles and books and received
international awards. In addition to his
professional responsibilities, he continued
his father's tradition and taught Hebrew
school at Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
where he was one of the synagogue's most
beloved teachers. He was also president of
the men's club at the former Congregation
Beth Aaron and was one of the founders of
the Hebrew teachers union.
Despite his busy schedule, Sol always
made time for his family, enjoying fre-
quent visits and phone conversations with
his children and their families, and writ-
ing music, poems and other treatises to his
beloved Sylvia. When receiving an award
from the Society of Chemical Engineers
for his inventive work in the field of auto-
motive paint colors, instead of a standard
acceptance speech, he gave an ode to his
wife.
JOSHUA BURSTYN, 39, died
He always treated his colleagues at
work with dignity and respect, and devel-
oped real relationships with the people
he encountered, including his barber,
repairman or the woman behind the UPS
counter.
His daughter, Sharon, said her father
believed in the miracles found in everyday
life, which he referred to as "the ecstasy of
the ordinary?'
Sol Panush is survived by his daugh-
ters and son, Dr. Sharon (Dr. Leon)
Hochman, Dr. Daniel (Sandy) Panush,
Gigi (Sam) Panush Fried, and Illana
(Danny) Greenberg; loving grandchil-
dren, Jamie (Steve) Herz, Adam Hochman
(Jennifer Baumer), Jordana Hochman
(Russ Burnett), Stephanie (Jordan) Dubow,
Jenny (Erik) Friedman, Jon Panush, Eva
Fried (Amy Baden), Orly Fried, Jake
Fried, Molly Fried, Susanna Fried, Nathan
Greenberg and Matthew Greenberg;
great-grandchildren, Charlie Herz, Eliza
Herz, Julia Herz, Lila Hochman, Nina
Hochman, Ian Burnett, Cayla Friedman,
Josie Friedman, Rory Dubow, Parker
Dubow, Stella Fried, Scarlett Fried,
Georgia Fried, Zeke Fried, and Keevyn
Baden-Winterwood; sisters-in-law, Maxine
Stoler (the late William Stoler) and Mickey
Logan (the late Jerome Logan); and many
loving nieces and nephews.
Mr. Panush was the beloved husband
of the late Sylvia Panush; devoted son of
the late Abraham and the late Rebecca
Panush; dear brother of the late Louis (the
late Tillie) Panush, the late Bernard (the
late Ann) Panush, and the late Irving (the
late Irene) Panush.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to Congregation Shaarey Zedek, the Sol
Panush Memorial Teacher Enrichment
Fund, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield,
MI 48034, (248) 357-5544, www.
shaareyzedek.org; or to a charity of one's
choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. ❑
May 9, 2014.
He is survived by his parents,
Marjorie and Tzvi Burstyn of
Southfield; brother and sister-
in-law, Jaron and Rochel Leah
Burstyn; sisters and brothers-in-
law, Aliza and Reuven Lerner,
Naomi and Jonah Tainsky, Aviva
and Aaron Elchonen; nieces,
nephews and the extended fam-
ily at the Fox Hill Group Home
and the Freedom Group Home
Corp.
Contributions may be made
to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah,
P.O. Box 2044, Southfield, MI
48037. Services and interment
were held at Hebrew Memorial
Park. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
ABE COHEN, 96, of
Southfield, died May 10, 2014.
He is survived by his sis-
ter, Sylvia Feldman of West
Bloomfield; grandchildren,
Larry (Denise) Bonadeo, Jack
Sovel, Marci (Jeff) Sparks; 15
great-grandchildren; 15 great-
great-grandchildren; many other
loving family members and
friends.
Mr. Cohen was the beloved
husband of the late Celia Cohen
and the late Annette Chajes;
the father of the late Rena (the
late Thomas) Himes; brother of
the late Lou Cohen and the late
Bertha Weinstein; brother-in-
law of the late Arthur Feldman.
Contributions may be made
to the Jewish National Fund
or to a charity of one's choice.
Interment took place at Beth
Tefilo Emanuel Cemetery in
Ferndale. Arrangements by
Dorfman Chapel.
Obituaries on page 54
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Obituaries
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May 15 • 2014
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