obituaries A Man Of Love I Esther Allweiss Ingber Contributing Writer A t the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, George Vine promised his father he would live to bear witness to the horrors inflicted by the Nazis. And George fulfilled his promise — surviving the Holocaust, building a strong family and business in Detroit, and retelling the story of the persecution and slaughter of his family and other people to countless visitors at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills (HMC). When son Allen Vine brought George to the HMC a few months ago to speak for the last time to visiting schoolchildren, he said George shared his story — lacing it with a message of tolerance and hope. As these students listened intently, tear- fully, his very last words he said to them were: 'The answer is love:" Community leader and businessman George Vine, 87, of West Bloomfield, died Sept. 27, 2014, more than a week after suf- fering a stroke. Rabbi Steven Rubenstein of Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield, the family's home synagogue, officiated at the funeral service, while Beth Ahm member Ronn Nadis performed the cantorial duties. Friend Beth Greenapple sang two songs in tribute. Eulogies recalled a friendly, good-natured man who cared deeply about people and supporting worthy causes. Born on June 3, 1927, Gedalia Vino (the family's original name) was 12 when they were taken to a ghetto from their home in Ciechanow, Poland. He became a bar Yeshiva BETH YEHUDAH min> ny'a navy , During the coming week, the students of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah will study in memory of the following departed friends. In addition, Kaddish will be said during the daily minyan. 11 Tishrei Oct. 5, 2014 Abraham Aronow Albert Berry David Harold Cooperman Irene Deutsch Irving Disner Simon Goldman Martha Herbst Joseph Klein Solomon Nucian Ella Rosenberg Lillian Saltsman Ruth Ann Shapiro Joseph Weisblatt Ben Weitzman 12 Tishrei Oct. 6, 2014 Sarah Golda Beshkin Jack Dorf Chana Fishman Samuel Greenspan Rose Krosnick Sol Lefton Malka Moss Lena Sitrin Irving Tessler William Winer Bessie Yassky mitzvah there in 1940, then went by cattle car to Auschwitz two years later. American military forces in 1945 liberated him from Dachau, a concentration camp in Germany. George's parents and four brothers were slain in the Holocaust. George immigrated in 1947 to New York, where he first – 4419W . 4r11 worked making 4114 clothes in so-called "sweatshops." Arriving in Detroit, he became a sales- man in the garment industry. In 1956, George and partner Herman Weitzman George Vine started a wholesale women's apparel business out of Herman's basement. They moved briefly to Linwood Avenue, then to Fenkell near Livernois for 15 years and, in 1973, to an industrial area near Square Lake Road and Telegraph in the Bloomfield Township area. After Herman's retirement and death, George reestablished the wholesale busi- ness in 1988. At George Vine Associates, he worked alongside his son Allen and Bruce Gaston, son of a close family friend. Allen and his brother and sister, Michael and Sandy, are children from George's first marriage to the late Barbara Vine. The couple were married at Congregation B'nai David on 12th Street in Detroit and lived in Oak Park and West Bloomfield. George's wife of the past 24 years, Judy, was originally a cousin by marriage. Her 13 Tishrei Oct. 7, 2014 Morris Averbuch Morris Brickner Bella Chessler Nochum Cohen Celia Eizen Alice Helfgott Schmul Grun Hollender Jennie Kramer Sarah Langwald Sarah Levine Pearl Pauline Nusbaum Ruth Rose Sylvia Unger A. Marvin Westerman 14 Tishrei Oct. 8, 2014 Harry Alpiner Seymour Gorman Louis Radine Manuel Rosenthal Jennie Wasserman 15 Tishrei Oct. 9, 2014 Abraham Applebaum Shirley Gallison Chana Gershman Barnett Gittleman Gertrude Hyams Maureen Bernice Kleiman Helen Klein Julius Lefton Laela Miriam Saulson Esther Silverman 16 Tishrei Oct. 10, 2014 Elizabeth Brown Julius Corman David M. Edelman Harold Kaplan Allen Krakow Harry Levine Celia Margolis Phillip Rossen Morris Silverstein Esther Rose Smith 17 Tishrei Oct. 11, 2014 Leon N Cutler Joseph Hess Sadie Kaufman Minnie Kideckel Dora Strom Rothenhaus Simon Shlom William Solomon Rose Weingarden former husband was Barbara's first cousin. Widower George's friendship with the divorced Judy "blossomed into a romance," she said. "Our kids are cousins and siblings in the same breath," said Judy, a mother of two. David Share said he was 13 when he and his sister Betsy "were wel- comed into the family with open arms:' Calling George "the sweetest man ever," David said George taught him about "hard work, dedica- tion, sympathy, forgive- ness, the importance of friends and family, and most of all: love." Aiding The Community Judy said her husband "had a hard begin- ning, but made so much out of his life in the United States." George Vine's name pops up frequently in the Detroit Jewish News Foundation digital archives, an indication of how completely this Holocaust survivor blended into the fabric of his adopted Jewish community. At the 32nd annual B'nai David/Israel Bonds citywide dinner on June 13, 1993, nearly $575,000 in new loan dollars was raised in tribute to dinner honoree George Vine. He received the Unity Award in rec- ognition of his support for developing the State of Israel. An advertisement in the April 13, 2006, Jewish News invited readers to a classical piano concert for Lag b'Omer honoring George Vine. Proceeds would benefit the Holocaust Memorial Center and Akiva Hebrew Day School in Southfield. Those are just two. George's outreach included establish- ing the George Vine Philanthropic Fund with the United Jewish Charities. He was a board member of Jewish Senior Life and an executive board member at Congregation B'nai David and then Beth Ahm. George also served on the board of Michigan Jewish AIDS Coalition. Son Michael sparked George and Judy's interest in gay issues. "Narrow-mindedness and superficiality were not in his vocabulary," said Michael of his father. George "accepted you for who you are. "He believed in justice and tolerance, civil and equal rights, treating people with dig- nity," Michael said. "George had a smile for everyone — everybody was his friend," said Bea Mondry, whose late husband, Leon, survived the Auschwitz death camp with George. George found a second home at the Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC). He founded the museum with other members of the local Holocaust survivors' organiza- tion, Shaarit Haplaytah. George was a HMC executive board member and general board member. Over the years, George spoke about his wartime experiences at the HMC and at numerous other venues, including high schools, colleges (such as Wayne State University in Detroit and Bowling Green State University in Ohio) and to military personnel at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County. Every talk made good on his promise to his father that he would survive and tell what happened in the Holocaust. George is survived by his beloved wife, Judy; children, Michael (Bill Getreuer) Vine, Sandy Sirlin Vine, Allen Vine, Betsy (Dr. Howard) Golan and David (Stacia) Share; grandchildren, Derek Getreuer, Anna Getreuer, Nicole Baumhaft, Jason Baumhaft, Samantha Vine, Evan Vine, Micah Golan, Ari Golan and Jordan Golan. He was the son-in-law of Charles and Ruth Rader; and brother-in-law of Ron Share, and Sheldon (Bonnie) Rader. He also was the husband of the late Barbara Vine, and a son of the late Zisel and the late Moshe Reuven Vino. Contributions may be made to the Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, www.holocaustcenter.org ; or Congregation Beth Ahm, 5075 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, www.cbahm. org. 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