obituaries »

IRMA ALLWEISS, 84,
of Oak Park, died Feb.
29, 2016.
Born Oct. 13, 1931,
in Bronx, N.Y., Irma
was the youngest child
and only daughter of
Benjamin and Bertha
Allweiss
(Klatzkin) Burg. In
1942, she and her par-
ents joined her brother
Leon “Leo” Burg in Detroit. Irma gradu-
ated with honors from Northern High
School, where she participated in theater
and edited the school newspaper.
Mrs. Allweiss, a homemaker for most
of her life, married her husband, Zygie,
a Holocaust survivor, in 1949. They
raised their family in Detroit and West
Bloomfield. Widowed in August 2014, she
moved to Oak Park in February 2015.
She is survived by her children, Esther
(Mike) Ingber, Irene Wise, Janice (Loren)
Young, Elizabeth Allweiss and Michael
Allweiss; grandchildren, Alison and
Julianna Tschirhart, Renee Wise, Erica
Bak, Jennifer (Mat) Stollman, Sarah
Allweiss-Rosenbaum and Aiden Allweiss;
great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Nathan
and Ella Bak, and Clara and Violet
Stollman. She also leaves her brother,
Richard (Christa) Burg; sister-in-law,
Frieda Allweiss; nine nephews, one niece,
three great-nephews and two great-nieces.
Mrs. Allweiss was the beloved wife of
the late Zyga “Zygie” Allweiss; dear sister
of the late Harry (the late Victoria) Burke,
the late Jacob (the late Mollie) Burke, and
the late Leon (the late Gertrude) Burg;
dear sister-in-law of the late Sol Allweiss;
and other Allweiss family members who
died in Poland during the Holocaust.
Interment was at Adat Shalom
Memorial Park. Contributions may be
made to the American Stroke Association,
24445 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 100,
Southfield, MI 48075, www.
strokeassociation.org; or Jewish Senior
Life of Metropolitan Detroit, 6710 W.
Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322,
www.jslmi.org. Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.

THEODORE “TED” BAHR, 75, former
Detroiter of Rockville, Md., died March
1, 2016.
He lived most of his adult life in the
Washington, D.C., area.
He is survived by his wife, Carol;
his children, Adam (Susan), Rebecca
(Michael) and Charles Sidney Cook; his
grandchildren, Noah, Sydney, Jacob and
Evelyn; his sisters, Marilyn (Bahr) Esner
and Diane Bahr.
Mr. Bahr was predeceased by his par-
ents, Sara and Bernard Bahr.
A private graveside service was held.
Contributions may be made to the Jewish

Social Services Hospice or Hevrat Shalom
Synagogue in Maryland. Condolences
may be made at www.sagelbloomfield.
com. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield
Dazansky Goldberg Funeral Care Inc. in
Rockville.

LILLIAN BRICKER,
90, of West Bloomfield,
died March 4, 2016.
Mrs. Bricker is sur-
vived by her husband
of 68 years, Alfred
Bricker; daughter and
son-in-law, Sharon
Bricker
Bricker-Ferris and
Art Ferris of Rohnert
Park, Calif.; son and
daughter-in-law, Les and Bonnie Bricker
of Northville; grandchildren, Sarah
Bricker and Aaron Bricker; sister-in-law
and brothers-in-law, Pauline and Harry
Schwartz, and Melvin Mogill; other loving
relatives and friends.
Mrs. Bricker was the cherished mother
of the late Stuart J. Bricker; loving sister of
the late Marion Cohen; dear sister-in-law
of the late Audrey Mogill.
Interment was at Machpelah
Cemetery. Contributions may be made to
Congregation Beth Ahm, 5075 W. Maple,
West Bloomfield, MI 48322, www.cbahm.
org; or Hospice of Michigan, 400 Mack
Ave., Detroit, MI 48201, www.hom.org/
donations. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.

SHEILA ELLMANN,
84, of Farmington Hills,
died March 1, 2016.
Mrs. Ellmann is
survived by her sons
and daughter-in-law,
Douglas and Claudia
Ellmann of Ann Arbor,
Ellmann
and Robert Ellmann of
Prague; grandchildren,
Ben Bosworth Ellmann
and Liam Roberts Ellmann; many other
loving relatives and friends.
Mrs. Ellmann was the beloved wife of
the late William Ellmann; the cherished
mother of the late Carol Ellmann; the
devoted daughter of the late Joseph and
the late Rose Frenkel.
Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to the A.
Alfred Taubman Medical Research
Institute, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, 5017
A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science
Research Bldg., Ann Arbor, MI 48019-
2200, www.taubmaninstitute.org; or
United Jewish Appeal, 130 E. 59th St.,
New York, NY 10022, www.ujafedny.org.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

LITA FRIEDMAN, 85, of Farmington
Hills, died March 4, 2016.

She is survived by her daughters,
Cheryl Friedman and Susan Miller; son,
Mark Friedman; brother and sister-in-law,
Sam and Gloria Wolk; many loving nieces,
nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews,
other family members and friends.
Mrs. Friedman was beloved wife of the
late Sam Friedman; sister of the late Ruth
(Morley) Wolfe; mother-in-law of the late
Allan Miller.
Contributions may be made to the
Alzheimer’s Association or to a charity
of one’s choice. Interment was held at
the Hebrew Memorial Park Cemetery
in Clinton Township. Arrangements by
Dorfman Chapel.

HARVEY GLENN
GAVORIN, 69, of
Battle Creek, died Feb.
29, 2106, at his resi-
dence.
Harvey, the son of
Herman and Helena
(Rubinfire) Gavorin,
Gavorin
was born in Detroit on
June 3, 1946. He served
his country honorably
and nobly during the Vietnam War as an
airman third class in the United States Air
Force, stationed in Germany for two years,
maintaining airplanes. After the service,
Harvey was a pipe fitter for more than 20
years at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.
Harvey was married to Rhoda Sue
(Zumberg) Brown, the mother of his
children, of Warren, Mich. He then mar-
ried Barbara E. “Bobbie” (Golden) in West
Bloomfield July 13, 1986; she preceded
him in death on Jan. 26, 2015. He was also
preceded in death by his parents.
Mr. Gavorin is survived by his daugh-
ter, Michelle J. Gavorin of Warren; two
sons, David M. Gavorin of North Branch,
Mich., and Randy I. (Denise) Gavorin of
Bloomfield Township; four grandchildren,
Rebecka, Andrew, Austin and Amelia
Gavorin; a great-granddaughter, Kassidy
Gavorin; his sister, Susan Gavorin of
Farmington Hills.
The funeral will be held on March 10 at
11 a.m. at the Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral
Home & Cremation Care in Battle Creek.
Cantor Annie Rose of Temple Beth El of
Battle Creek will officiate. Interment will
follow in Fort Custer National Cemetery,
Augusta, Mich., with the Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base Honor Guard and the
Fort Custer Honor Guard bestowing full
military honors. Contributions may be
made to Temple Beth El, 306 Capital
Avenue NE, Battle Creek, MI 49017; or
the Michigan Humane Society, 30300
Telegraph Road, Suite 220, Bingham
Farms, MI 48025. Personal messages for
the family and/or favorite memories may
be placed at www.farleyestesdowdle.com.

‘A Spiritual
Presence’

Barbara Lewis | Contributing Writer

S

amuel “Sami” Semp traveled the world
on his way to Southeast Michigan.
Born in Manchester, England, he lived
in Israel for a time and then Canada before
moving to Flint, home-
town of his wife, Harriet
“Gila.”
In 1982, the family
moved to Southfield so
Mr. Semp could take a
position as ritual direc-
tor at Congregation Beth
Shalom in Oak Park,
a job he held for more
than 25 years. He also
taught seventh grade for
Samuel Semp
the congregation’s reli-
gious school.
For the past several
years, he was the Torah reader at the Woodward
Avenue Shul in Royal Oak.
Mr. Semp died Feb. 28, 2016, at age 69.
“For many people at Beth Shalom, he was
a spiritual presence,” said David Nelson, rabbi
emeritus of the congregation.
“He welcomed people into the morning and
evening minyans and created a sense of com-
munity. He began monthly Seudah Shlishit
meals on Shabbat afternoons. And he was a
memorable teacher for a generation of students
in our religious school.
“There was a sweetness about him that drew
people to him,” said Rabbi Nelson.
Beth Shalom member David Wolock of
Huntington Woods said Mr. Semp’s influence
was a major reason his daughter, Jana, became
a teacher.
Mr. Sem p’s life was touched by tragedy when
his younger daughter, Devorah, died in 2009 at
the age of 28.
“He was self-taught but very smart, very well
educated,” said his surviving daughter, Peninah
Semp. “He loved to read, and he loved to learn.
He probably had more books than the library.”
Family was very important to him, she said.
“He spoke to his brother in New Zealand every
Saturday night, and he was devoted to my
mother.
“Whatever he did, he put 100 percent into
everything. He was very kind. He loved to help
people.”
Mr. Semp is survived by his wife, Harriet;
daughter Peninah; son Ari; brother Irving
(Sandra); and many nephews and great-nephews.
He was the father of the late Devorah
Michelle Semp; and the son of the late Morris
and the late Jean Semp.
Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery in
Flint. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

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