obituaries

'The Old Captain'

j

ohn Mayer, 87, of Bloomfield
Hills, died June 7, 2014.
He was born in Detroit on
July 22, 1926, to Golda Ginsberg Mayer
and Lee Mayer. His siblings were David
and Judith. He was married to Barbara
Friedman Mayer on Aug. 8, 1958, in
Detroit.
He was one of the youngest people to
acquire a radio operator's license. After
serving in the United States Navy, he
lived for a time on a boat in California
until it exploded. He did not live on
boats after that. A lifelong sailor, he co-
founded the Great Lakes Yacht Club and
served as one of its first commodores.
Competing in 38 consecutive Mackinac
races, usually as a navigator, he won
one of them sailing a boat called Gypsy.
In his retirement, he developed the

ROBERT ADLER, 65,
of Southfield, died June
4, 2014.
He was the senior
vice president of Spirit
Leather Works and a
licensing agent for Nike
Golf and Tiger Woods
Robert Adler
Accessories.
Mr. Adler is sur-
vived by his son and daughter-in-law,
Matthew Stephen and Nicole Adler;
grandchildren, Isaac Daniel Adler, Eli
Joseph Adler and Oliver Michele Adler;
companion, Barbara Adler; wife of 30
years, Ilene Adler; brother and sister-
in-law, Bill and Sandy Adler of Oregon;
nephews and nieces, Luke and Emily
Adler, Brent Adler and Sarah Adler;
great-niece, Cora Adler.
He was the devoted son of the late
Harold and the late Shirley Adler.
Interment was at Beth El Memorial
Park Cemetery. Contributions may
be made to the National Kidney
Foundation, 1169 Oak Valley Drive,
Ann Arbor, MI 48108, www.nkfm.org .
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

RITA G. BEDRICK, 92, of Southfield,
died June 2, 2014.
She was the beloved wife of the
late Harold; dearest mother of Peter
(Rita), Jon (Joyce); dear grandmother
of Steven (Candice), Todd (Sarah),
Meredith (Michael), Michael, Jordan,
Stacy, Danny, and Marc (Angela); lov-
ing great-grandmother of Sienna, Alex,
Mackenzie, Keegan, Rayden, Saige,
Lestat, Maddox, and Mason; beloved
sister of Phyllis Polokoff and Marcia
"Cookie" Schiffman.
Contributions may be made to the
Parkinson's Foundation.

world's largest database of sailboats,
known as JIBSLIST(John's International
Boats List, www.jibslist.com ). He took
great pleasure in taking peo-
ple on their first sail and in
passing on the art of sailing.
He co-founded and ran
Alexander Dunn and Sons,
a duty-free products and
services company with his
cousin and good friend,
Richard Colten. Known by
many as "Johnny," as well as
"the Old Captain," he was
known for his easy smile,
John Maye
quick humor and genuine
warmth.
A lover of gadgets, Mr. Mayer once
placed a wireless phone call from the
Mackinac Bridge in the 1960s, two

MIRIAM E BELKIN. 86, of Farmington
Hills, died June 7, 2014.
She is survived by her son and daugh-
ter-in-law, Dr. Jeffrey and Linda Belkin
of Farmington Hills; daughter, Julie
Belkin of Annapolis, Md.; grandchil-
dren, Benjamin (Jerre Belkin, Rachel
Belkin and Amanda Belkin; great-
grandchildren, Alexis and Rex; many
loving cousins, other family members
and friends.
Mrs. Belkin was the beloved wife of
the late Jack W. Belkin.
Interment was held at the Clover
Hill Park Cemetery in Birmingham.
Contributions may be made to
Hadassah or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

MARSHALL BURSTEIN, 72, of Royal
Oak, died June 5, 2014.
He is survived by his daughter, Marci
Burstein of Oak Park; her mother, Nancy
Burstein, also of Oak Park; friend, Jack
Kahn; and the morning minyan group at
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park.
Contributions may be made to
Congregation Beth Shalom, 14601
Lincoln, Oak Park, MI 48237.
Graveside services were held at Beth
Tefilo Emanuel Cemetery in Ferndale.
Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel.

RUTH KORN, 95, of
Oak Park, died June 5,
2014.
She was a member of
Temple Beth El.
Mrs. Korn is survived
HOITUST
SUIVTOR
by loving family and
friends.
She was the devoted and beloved wife
of the late Mendel Korn.

decades before the invention of cell
phones (he also came close to purchas-
ing a phone company.) He owned more
laptop computers than
most of his contempo-
raries. He loved words.
One of his favorites was
"excellent" and one of
his favorite phases, from
a children's book was
"bunny rabbits hopping
in the sea." He also liked
Reuben sandwiches and
did not like to wear ties.
His favorite place was
Hilton Beach, Ont., where
he spent his summers since age 12 and
for five months a year in his retirement.
Mr. Mayer is survived by his wife
of 56 years, Barbara Mayer; sons and

Interment was at the Beth El section
of Woodmere Cemetery. Contributions
may be made to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel.

11111 THOMAS JAY
"TOMMY" LETVIN, of
Northville, died June 3,
2014.
He was born March
8, 1951, in Detroit. Mr.
Letvin was the CEO and
president of Hulet Body
Letvin
Company in Detroit
for more than 40 years.
Tom was the third generation in the fam-
ily business started in 1919 by his grand-
father.
He was a graduate of Southfield
High School and attended Ferris State
University, where he studied engineer-
ing. He and his wife, Dee, were members
of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield; he
was a member of the National Truck
Equipment Association and a proud sup-
porter of the State of Israel and Forgotten
Harvest Food Bank
Mr. Letvin is survived by his mother,
Betty Letvin; his wife of 37 years, Dee
Letvin; daughters, Abbie Letvin (fiance,
Kevin Sack), and Samantha Letvin; broth-
ers, Brian (Karen) Letvin of Sedalia,
Colo., and Marc (Peggy) Letvin of Oak
Park; mother-in-law, Helen White of
Elkins, W. Va.; sister-in-law, Karen
Vance of Coalton, W.Va,; brother-in-law,
Christopher Driscoll of Crystal Springs,
W.Va.; many loving nieces and nephews.
He was the son of the late Abe Letvin.
Contributions may be made to Temple
Israel Educational Fund, to Forgotten
Harvest or to Great Lakes Caring Hospice.
Interment was held at the Adat Shalom

1

Obituaries

daughter-in-law, Robert Gordon, David
and Eliska Mayer of West Bloomfield;
daughters and sons-in-law, Dr. Amy
Mayer and David Jack, Nancy Mayer
and Jonathan Talbott; grandchildren,
Daniel, David, Dan, Paul, Suzanna,
Emily, Claire and Sammy; sisters-in-
law and brother-in-law, Dene Mayer,
Suzanne Whitney, and Michael and
Leslie Friedman.
Mr. Mayer was the loving brother of
the late David Mayer and the late Judith
Mayer Schneider; the dear brother-in-
law of the late Arthur Schneider.
Contributions may be made to
Orchards Children's Services, 24901
Northwestern Hwy., #500, Southfield,
MI 48075, www.orchards.org ; or to a
charity of one's choice. Arrangements
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

❑

Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

DOROTHY LEVIN, 86,
of Bloomfield Hills, died
June 8, 2014. She was an
artist and a member of
the Ann Arbor Potters
Guild for more than 40
years.
She is survived by her
Levin
sons and daughters-in-
law, Albert Levin and
Zhen Xu, and Andrew and Heather Levin;
granddaughter, Amelia Levin; brother-in-
law and sister-in-law, Edwin and Sandra
Levin.
Mrs. Levin was the beloved wife of the
late Bernard Levin.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made to
a charity of one's choice. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Obituary Charges

The processing fee for obituaries is:
$100 for up to 150 words; $200 for
151-300 words, etc. A photo counts
as 30 words. There is no charge for
a Holocaust survivor icon.

The JN reserves the right to edit
wording to conform to its style
considerations. For information, have
your funeral director call the JN or
you may call Sy Manello, editorial
assistant, at (248) 351-5147 or email
him at smanello@renmedia.us .

Obituaries on page 70

June 12 • 2014

69

