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The Ira Kaufman Chapel
In Cooperation soith
The Detroit lervish Notes foundation
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Witham Davidson t>ryilal /1,hive of leaf,: Depot, History
Remembering The Life and Times of
A Lifetime
Of Memories
ELIZABETHIAMES
POP US STOP!
T'hurs Oct 1st - Sun Oct 3rd
( /
Ira Kaufman Chapel
provides special
gift to families.
classic yet cool ee timeless pieces
I
call to book a private appointment
248-851-1260
2034010
AUTHENTIC CHINESE CUISINE
MIDTOWN
4710 Cass Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201
UPTOWN
6407 Orchard Lake Road
(15 Mile & Orchard Lake)
313.974.7669
248.626.8585
DAILY DIM SUM &SUSHI
DAILY DIM SUM
26 September 24 • 2015
March 9, 1926 - July 7, 21115
A memory book made by the
Ira Kaufman Chapel
Uzi is know for their
Sho their PALE collection
or your Tall wardrobe
Robert Russman
Jackie Headapohl
F
Managing Editor
amities in mourning are now
receiving a gift from the Ira
Kaufman Chapel that often
leads to smiles, laughter and the sharing
of warm memories.
After the funeral, the chapel presents
the family with a look at the life of their
loved one in a customized book com-
piled in collaboration with the Detroit
Jewish News Foundation's William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History.
David Techner said the idea was
sparked by his friendship with
Arthur Horwitz, founder of the DJN
Foundation, whose mission was to
digitize the pages of the Detroit Jewish
News — and soon the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle — and make them searchable
and available to the public.
Techner said his son, Chad, a "tech
guy," was intrigued by the possibilities
the digital archive presented. Chad
and his wife, Whitney, put the books
together.
"As funeral directors, we try to estab-
lish the legacy of the person who died,"
Techner said. "What a great next step to
be able to look at the person's lifetime,
from a birth announcement to their
death notice and all their life encapsu-
lated in between:'
Techner said families have been
overwhelmed upon receiving the free
memory books.
"A lot of the stuff they don't remem-
ber. We highlight the name of the
deceased on each page they're men-
tioned in the Jewish News. Families can
take a look at what else was going on at
that time: from the ads to what people
were wearing. It brings history to life'
Nearly everyone in Detroit's Jewish
community has been mentioned among
the 270,000 pages that comprise the
Jewish News portion of the archive.
"We recently did the funeral of a
man born with Down syndrome, who
died when he was 53," Techner said.
"We thought, 'We probably won't have
to spend a lot of time putting his mem-
ory book together: Boy, were we wrong."
It turns out that the young man
had been a poster child for the Special
Olympics. He had gone to many events,
competed and won several trophies. His
memory book was 50 pages.
"The family had this sense of 'wow'
that he had gone to all these events and
had all these experiences:' Techner said.
"His mom died several months later,
and we were told that she would look
at her son's memory book every day.
She got nachas because, yes, her son's
life did have meaning. Seeing all he had
done was proof positive that he had
overcome his challenges."
Techner has another great story to
share. The Ira Kaufman Chapel was
putting together a memory book for the
mother of community leader Sharon
Lipton. "We found an article from 1945
talking about how her father had been
summoned home by an act of Congress
because his mother had lost two other
sons in the war. It was a real-life exam-
ple of Saving Private Ryan," he said.
Horwitz is pleased the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History is being put to good use
in the community.
"The collaboration between the
Detroit Jewish News Foundation and
the Ira Kaufman Chapel is an example
of how the archive's content can be uti-
lized in unique and meaningful ways:'
Horwitz said. And with the addition
of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle to the
archive, planned for late October, the
community will soon have 100 years of
history at their fingertips with myriad
possibilities for utilization:'
Techner said when they walk into a
shivah house with these memory books,
they hear laughter and tears and get a
lot of hugs. "We're happy to add some-
thing positive to an experience that's so
painful. Yes, it's a gift to the families,
but their gratitude is a gift for us:'
❑
Access the William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit History at
www.djnfoundation.org.