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Obituaries from page 69

A TRIBUTE IN NEPAL

Richard Keiden recently returned from
one of his extended trips to his sec-
ond home in Nepal. His Detroit2Nepal
Foundation continues to do meaning-
ful work improving the lives of villagers
through building schools, toilets, health
care clinics and more.
Keiden also had a monument commis-
sioned in memory of the late Jeff Surnow,

a dedicated member of Team Alex. The
monument is a Buddhist chorten and rests
above the village at the foot of a sacred
lake.
“This is truly a beautiful and lasting
tribute to a man whose big smile, warm
heart and generous soul will forever be
remembered,” he said.

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A lasting monument to the late Jeff Surnow

DAVIDSON GALLERY AT DIA

Detroit Institute of Arts

WILLIAM WEISS,
of Laguna Woods,
Calif., died Jan. 27,
2016.
He is survived by
his sons and daugh-
ter-in-law, Samuel
Weiss, Frederick
Weiss
and Mindi Weiss,
and Dr. Michael
Weiss; grandchil-
dren, Emily, Ashley,
Benjamin, Megan,
Emma and Ethan
Weiss.
Mr. Weiss was the
beloved husband of
the late Regina Weiss.
Interment was at Beth El
Memorial Park. Contributions may
be made to the Holocaust Memorial
Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334, www.
holocaustcenter.org; or Vitas
Community Connections, Vitas
Healthcare, 310 Commerce, Suite
200, Irvine, CA 92602, vitas.com/
community-connection/donate.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.

The Detroit Institute of Arts will name
its newly reinstalled Ancient Middle East
(AME) gallery in recognition of a $5 mil-
lion grant from the William Davidson
Foundation, which will go to the museum’s
endowment.
The newly named William Davidson
Gallery showcases objects from the ancient
Arabian Kingdom as well as from the
empires of Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and
Rome.
“We are very grateful for this gener-
ous grant from the William Davidson
Foundation,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA

director. “This is a wonderful milestone for
the museum, and designating the funds to
our operating endowment will tremendously
help our efforts to secure the permanent
financial stability of the DIA and transform
our museum into the town square of the
community. We truly aim to engage and be
relevant to our surrounding neighborhoods
and supporting counties.”
The DIA is planning to include a section
in the William Davidson Gallery on the pro-
duction of glass in the ancient Middle East
region and has begun conversations with the
Israel Antiquities Authority to obtain loans
of remarkable glass and ceramics that will
enhance the gallery.

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70 February 4 • 2016