obituaries
Longtime Detroit Entrepreneur
orman H. Rosenfeld, 95, a life-
long Michigan resident and
champion for the city of Detroit,
living and working in the city for most of
his life, died Nov. 13, 2014, at his home in
Bloomfield Hills.
Norman was the chairman and chief
executive officer of Sibley's Shoes, founded
by Norman's father, Harry, in 1920.
Harry moved the shop, originally called
Rosenfeld's Bootery on 12th Street, to the
corner of Sibley and Woodward (the soon-
to-be location of the first M-1 rail station
north of 1-75) in the early 1920s.
In 1932, the flagship store was moved
to the corner of Woodward Avenue and
Montcalm in the Fox Building. By 1952,
Sibley's moved its corporate offices to the
Fox Building and remained there until
1977, when it relocated to the Renaissance
Center.
Norman and his brother, Aaron "Rocky"
Ross, had assumed ownership upon Harry's
death in 1973 and led the well-known retail
footwear chain, expanding to more than 40
Sibley's and Ms. Sibley's stores with more
than 300 dedicated employees throughout
Michigan and Ohio.
Born to Ethel Rosenfeld in Harper
Hospital in Detroit on Aug. 13, 1919,
Norman grew up on Nevada Street and
Whitmore Lane, graduating from Northern
VIRGINIA ALKON,
84, of Huntington
Woods, died Nov. 10,
2014.
She was the beloved
wife for 62 years of
Leonard W Alkon;
adored mother of
Alkon
Margie Alkon Skora
and her late husband,
Tom, Janey Alkon, Patty Alkon Jylkka
and her husband, Jay; proud grand-
mother of Steven Daniel Skora, Benjamin
P. Jylkka and his wife, Stefanie, Matthew
Michael Jylkka, Sarah Marie Jylkka; lov-
ing sister of the late Bob Rosenthal and
the late Mary Ann Verby; sister-in-law of
Dusty Rosenthal and the late Les Verby,
Sheldon Alkon and his wife, Lorraine;
awesome aunt of Carol and Irwin, Peter,
Prudy and Terry, Tom, Dinah and Bill,
Bob Jr., Judy, Amy, Liz and Tom, Caroline
and Rob. She is survived also by her
incredible caregivers and other loving
friends and family.
Interment was at Beth El Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to a
charity of one's choice. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel.
High School, where he played three sports
for the Eskimos. Attending the University
of Michigan in 1937, he studied English,
drama and broadcasting, participated in
many theater productions and
played football; he would later
joke he was "often run over by
Tom Harmon" in practice.
He graduated in 1941
and, after a year living in a
Chicago YMCA working for
the Florsheim Shoe Company,
Norman enlisted in the United
States Army in May 1942,
attending Officer Candidate
School and eventually achiev-
ing first lieutenant in the
Norman H.
776th Battalion Anti-Aircraft
Battery of Patton's Army in the
European Theater.
After considering law and business
schools before the war, and returning from
Europe in late 1945, he decided to help his
father at Sibley's Shoes.
In 1948, he married Dulcie Beth
Krasnick, who survives him after 65 years
of wedded bliss. They raised four children
on Steel Street north of Outer Drive and
later in a home on Hamilton Road across
from Palmer Park. In 1986, "Dulcie and
Norm" became one of the original tenants
at the Riverfront Apartments complex,
GAIL MIRIAM
(SHAPIRO) BENSON,
73, of San Mateo, Calif.,
died peacefully Nov. 3,
2014, with her daughters
and friend by her side.
Gail was born in
Detroit
and lived in
Benson
nearby Troy, followed
by Farmington Hills until 2001, when she
moved to California to be closer to her
daughters. For nearly 50 years she taught
elementary school, a career she loved.
Much of her career was at Lone Pine
Elementary School in Bloomfield Hills.
Mrs. Benson is survived by her
daughters and son-in-law, Alisa Benson
of Sarasota, Fla., Michelle and Miles
Goldstein; granddaughter, Melody
Goldstein, all of Foster City, Calif.
A graveside service was held at Skylawn
Memorial Park in San Mateo, Calif.,
and a memorial celebration of her life
will be scheduled in Michigan in May
2015. Contributions may be made to the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
(jdrf.org). Arrangements by Sinai
Memorial Chapel in Redwood City, Calif.,
(650) 369-3636.
where they constantly entertained family
and served as hosts for numerous commu-
nity causes.
A funeral was held at the Davidson/
Hermelin Chapel at Clover
Hill Park on Nov. 17, with
Rabbi Harold Loss and
Cantorial Soloist Neil
Michaels of Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield officiating.
Sports Enthusiast
A lifelong sports enthusiast,
Norman was a Detroit Lions
season-ticket holder begin-
ning in 1951, even traveling
to Cleveland and Chicago for
Rosenfeld
rivalry games in that era. The
Rosenfelds also had season
tickets for Michigan football games for
more than 50 years. Sibley's sponsored the
Detroit Tigers on WJR radio in Detroit.
Before every game, Hall of Fame announc-
er Ernie Harwell gave a pair of "Florsheim
shoes from Sibley's, Michigan's largest
Florsheim dealer!" to each baseball figure
he interviewed.
Norman Rosenfeld was the beloved
husband of Dulcie Rosenfeld and the
cherished father of Jill (Evan) Stone,
Nancy Rosenfeld, and Henry Rosenfeld of
California, and James (Peggy) Rosenfeld
BERNICE BORIN
BOORMAN, 83, of
West Bloomfield, died
Nov. 17, 2014.
She is survived by
her sisters-in-law,
Bette Bonin and Belle
Bonin; nieces and
Boorman
nephews, Melvin and
Marilyn Bonin, Karen
and Richard White, Robert Bonin, Steve
and Carol Bonin, Bruce Bonin, Phyllis
Bonin, Nancy and Harvey Lash, Carol
and Gene Zamler, Michael and Michelle
Bonin, Cheryl and Ron Riback, Andrew
and Lori Bonin, Bonnie Bonin, Joyce and
Larry Sherman, Jeffrey Bonin, Anne and
Bart Teush, and Deborah and William
Korman; very special friend and care-
giver, Pat Harris; 40 great-nieces and
great-nephews; 28 great-great-nieces
and great-great-nephews.
She was the beloved wife of the late
Ted Boorman; the devoted daughter
of the late Anna and the late Samuel
Bonin; the loving sister of the late
Benjamin and the late Paulette Bonin,
the late Maurie and the late Julia
Bonin, the late William Bonin, the late
Obituaries
of Huntington Woods.
He was the loving grandpa of Elizabeth
(Jud) Nirenberg and Adam Stone of
Washington D.C., Benjamin Rosenfeld
of California and Harrison Rosenfeld of
Huntington Woods; and the great-grandfa-
ther of Emmet Nirenberg.
Norman was the brother of the late
Aaron "Rocky" Ross; brother-in-law of
William and Marjorie Krasnick; and the
devoted son of the late Harry and the late
Ethel Rosenfeld; son-in-law of the late John
and the late Adeline Krasnick.
He is also survived by many loving
nieces, nephews, cousins, his devoted
friend and caregiver Bob Mielen, a world
of friends and his beloved employees and
staff of more than 55 years of Sibley's
Shoes.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be made
to Foundation Fighting Blindness, P.O.
Box 17279, Baltimore, MD 21297, (800)
683-5555, www.blindness.org; Gleaners
Community Food Bank, Oakland
Distribution Center, P.O. Box 33321,
Detroit, MI 48232-5321, www.gcfb.org ; or
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
Adeline and John Krasnick Scholarship
Fund, 6735 Telegraph, Bloomfield Hills,
MI 48301, www.jewishdetroit.org .
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
❑
Jack Bonin, the late Ralph and the late
Phyllis Bonin.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be
made to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
RAYMOND COLBERT, 90, of Tamarac,
Fla., formerly of Farmington Hills,
peacefully died Nov. 10, 2014, sur-
rounded by his loving family and
friends.
He was the beloved husband of
Arlene; cherished father of Edward
(Judy) and Robin Lyn (Steven); trea-
sured "Papa" of Stephanie Michelle
(Jon) and Marissa Joelle (Brandon);
revered great-grandfather of Eric James.
He also had a brother and four sisters.
Funeral services were held Nov. 11,
2014, with military honors and eulogies
delivered by Edward and Marissa.
Obituaries on page 62
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