obituaries

The Pen And The Rose

R

etired journalist Shirlee Rose
Iden, best known for her work
as a columnist and Suburban
Life editor for the Southfield Eccentric,
was a "Renaissance woman" in every
sense of the word and enjoyed an
enriched and rewarding personal and
professional life.
Mrs. Iden, 83, of Novi, died May 22,
2014.
Born in Detroit in 1931 to immigrant
parents of Polish extraction, she once
wrote in an autobiographical piece that
she was a child of the Great Depression
who never knew physical hunger or
deprivation. Instead, what she most
hungered for was knowledge and
approval.
A pint-size dynamo measuring just 5
feet in height, Shirlee possessed enor-
mous drive, energy and passion; and
despite her small stature, she never
went unnoticed.
A brilliant student who learned eas-
ily and read extensively, Shirlee loved
history, even in elementary school.
Fascinated with politics and current
events, she attended Detroit's Central
High School, where her composition
teacher encouraged her to volunteer to
write for the school yearbook. Before
even six months had passed, Shirlee
was editor-in-chief of The Centralite,
and, as such, she first tasted the power
and the responsibility that goes with
being a journalist.
Following her graduation from
Central in 1948, Shirlee had dreams of
college that were temporarily put aside
in order to raise a family with her high
school sweetheart, Jack Iden, whom she
married on Feb. 23, 1949. Together they
collaborated on five children, three of
whom survive her.
In the early 1960s, Shirlee and fam-
ily resided in Huntington Woods,
where her children were enrolled in
school. Shirlee attended Wayne State
University, where she earned her bach-
elor of arts degree in journalism (cum
laude) in 1966. She made the dean's list
in both 1963 and 1964 and was awarded
the Sigma Delta Chi certificate for hav-
ing the highest honor point average of
any journalism student in her graduat-
ing class.
A few years later, she returned to
WSU to earn a master's degree in his-
tory with the help of a department of
history fellowship she received in 1969-
70. While she worked on this degree,
Shirlee served as a part-time instructor
in the department of history at Macomb
Community College. From 1970-
1973, she taught parttime at Oakland

Community College, at both the Oak
Park and Clawson campuses.
Even as a young wife and mother,
Shirlee remained extremely active in
community affairs. She was strongly
affiliated with the Jewish War Veterans,
where she served as president of the
Department of Michigan Auxiliary,
president of the Robert J. Rafelson
Auxiliary, national patriotic instructor,
guard, historian and conductress. For
several years, she edited the Michigan
Salute, which was circulated to 2,000
veteran members of the Jewish War
Veterans and the National Ladies

These stories were published alongside
her own excellent photographs.
Shirlee's own passion for women's
issues and current events convinced
the Eccentric to send her to Houston to
cover the International Women's Year
National Women's National Conference
meeting in November 1977. Her sub-
sequent in-depth "dateline Houston"
series covered this landmark event from
the state and local angle and her stories
and photographs were published in
every other paper in the 06,E chain; a
few stories were published as the main
lead front page news story of that day's
Bulletin of Jewish War
paper.
Veterans Auxiliary pub-
Shirlee was espe-
cially interested in
lished in Washington, D.C.,
and circulated nationwide.
Jewish issues, cover-
ing the local com-
In 1970, Shirlee served
munity and writing
as public relations direc-
tor for both the congres-
extensively about Soviet
sional campaign (18th
Jewry and the elusive
search for peace in
District) and state Board
of Education campaign
the Middle East. A
of Annetta Miller of
patriotic American,
Huntington Woods.
she wrote extensively
in her columns about
Journalism Beckons
core American values,
Shirlee Ros e Iden
Shirlee began her profes-
with much thought-
sional writing career by writ-
ful commentary about
ing freelance pieces she pitched to area
our elected politicians and important
papers such as the Detroit News, Detroit
issues and current events of the day. As
Free Press and the Royal Oak-based Daily
impressive as these were, she undoubt-
Tribune. In the early 1970s, she became
edly best won the hearts and allegiance
an independent "stringer" covering
of her readers when she used her col-
special assignments for the Southfield
umns to bare her heart and share her
Eccentric, newest member of the Observer most private self.
& Eccentric chain of Metro Detroit com-
munity papers.
Award-Winning Writer
By mid-1973, Shirlee was both a
Shirlee won numerous awards for her
full-time reporter and the Suburban
writing and editorial awards for the news-
Life editor at the Southfield Eccentric.
paper sections she edited and formatted
In 1976, she published her first weekly
throughout her career. These included,
column and continued to publish a col-
among others, several prestigious Penny-
umn every week until her retirement.
Missouri Awards for Suburban Life and
She remained at the Eccentric for more
Lifestyle Sections; several Suburban
than two decades.
Newspapers of America certificates
Shirlee wrote about almost every
for Best News Story, Women's Interest
subject imaginable during her career
Writing, Best Photojournalism Feature;
as a journalist. Although she mostly
and National Newspaper Association
covered local news or feature stories
Awards for her Best Family Life and
with a local angle, she also covered
Living Pages.
the 1973 Yom Kippur War while on a
A member of Women in
private visit to Israel — during which
Communications International, Shirlee
time she crossed the Sinai and the Suez
received their Matrix Award in 1978 for
Canal with Israeli forces before a com-
a photojournalism feature and a coveted
plete cease-fire was reached. Afterward, Headliner Award in honor of her life's
she observed Henry Kissinger's spe-
work as a professional communicator in
cial brand of shuttle diplomacy from
May 1990.
Jerusalem.
Listed for many years in the Who's
Especially memorable is the poignant
Who of Women in America, Shirlee was
1976 series she wrote about a 16-day
Woman of the Year of the Southfield
trip she made with her father, Jacob
Business and Professional Women's
Rose, to his ancestral home in Poland.
Club in 1982.

Shirlee was also affiliated with
the Newspaper Guild, Americans for
Democratic Action, where she served as
a national board member, the National
Council of Jewish Women and Pioneer
Women. Post-retirement, Shirlee
remained an occasional special writer
for the Jewish News and contributed
articles to Michigan Jewish History, a
publication of the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan.
She was a passionate lifelong fan of
the Detroit Tigers, a lifelong Democrat
and an avid collector of modern art.
Throughout her lifetime, during which
she labeled herself a "political junkie"
and closely followed national politics,
Franklin D. Roosevelt remained her
favorite American president. Shirlee
traveled extensively both in the U.S.
and abroad, including, among others,
destinations as diverse as Israel, Egypt,
China, Russia, Ecuador, Poland, Mexico
and Vietnam.
Her final work as a writer was build-
ing an anthology of some of her life's
work, which she published with the
help of her daughter. On May 22, just
two days after her privately published
book The Pen and the Rose arrived from
the publisher, Shirlee quietly passed
away at home.
Shirlee Rose Iden is survived by
children, Tzviah (Lauren) Iden, Elaine
(Alex) Cheshin, and Bruce (Lee) Iden.
She was the mother of the late Linda
Marlene Iden and Robert Anthony Iden.
She is the grandmother of Arik (Sarit)
Cheshin, Maya (Tzur) Yahav, Dahna
(Danny) Abitbol, Daniel James Iden,
Jesse Charles Iden, and Jenna Rose
Iden; and great-grandmother of Shira
Tova Cheshin, Liri Yahav, Zoey Yahav,
Raz Yaakov Cheshin, Yehonatan Pinhas
Abitbol, Omer Abitbl, and Neta-Lee
Cheshin.
She was the loving wife of the late Jacob
(Jack) Iden; devoted daughter of the late
Jacob (Jack) and the late Blanche Rose;
cherished sister of Eugene Paul Rose; and
dear sister-in-law of Deanna Rose.
Interment was at Adat Shalom
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, 733 Third Ave., Third Floor,
New York, NY 10017, (212)463-7787,
www.nationalMSsociety.org ; Yad Ezra
2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI
48072, (248) 548-3663, www.yadezra.
org; or Hebrew Free Loan, Jack and
Blanche Rose Fund, 6735 Telegraph
Road, Suite 300, Bloomfield Hills, MI
48301, (248) 723-8184, www.
hfldetroit.org. Arrangements were by
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

❑

Obituaries on page 66

Obituaries

June 5 • 2014

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