Mandell “Bill” Berman » 1917-2016

Detroit Public TV is grateful we
were able to honor Bill for his
WWII service in the US Navy on
our December 7th Remembrance
Night in this 75th year. Thanks to
the Mandell & Madeleine Berman
&ŽƵŶĚĂƟŽŶ͘

continued from page 28

amidst the bustling crowd, nowhere to
be seen. I had several moments of con-
cern and panic. Then I saw him, again
emerging from The Max. This time
with a small bundle in his hand.
“I went back to get you cookies,” he
said. “You’ve got to try these. They’re
delicious!” That was Bill, always think-
ing about others.

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ADVICE AND GOOD CHOICES
Bill loved to give me advice, especially
when it came to my legal studies and
law career. While I was in law school,
the routine was that I would typically
drop him off Downtown, go study in
the law library and then pick him up
when he was ready to go home. If it was
exam season and I was slightly rattled,
Bill loved to share what he viewed as the
most efficient way to obtain a law degree.
“You know, if you were rich and
important like me, they would just give
you a degree,” he’d say. “You do know
that they gave me a law degree from
Wayne? I never had to take those tests
like you — you’re doing it all wrong.”
Quite honestly, he would know. Over
99 years of life, Bill seemed to do it all
right. This was especially true when it
came to choosing his bride of 66 years,
Madge.
About two years ago, with more
than 64 years of marriage under his
belt, there was no doubt Bill still
appreciated the wisdom of his choice.
Hannah and I received a chatty call
from Bill, who was in Florida at the
time. It was Valentine’s Day and he
shared his plans for a dinner for two in
a beautiful restaurant with his bride,
Madge. When he told us he had made
calls to a half-dozen places to find a suit-
able reservation, my wife started to cry.
This was incredible — a 97-year-old
man determined to find the right place
to take his bride of 64 years for dinner
on Valentine’s Day. It was beautiful.
I often chuckle when I think about
my initial reaction to driving the
Bermans. I had it all figured out. A cou-
ple in their 90s would make for an early
evening, giving me plenty of time to
take my girlfriend (now wife, Hannah)
out afterwards. There was one problem
— neither Bill nor Mrs. Berman knew
the concept of “early bird special.”
My nights with the Bermans didn’t
end at 7 p.m.; that’s when they started,
and I wouldn’t be dropping them off
until after 11 p.m. Eventually, Hannah
just started coming with us. After we
would drop Bill and Mrs. Berman off
at whatever event they were attending,
Hannah and I would go out to dinner
ourselves, and then, remarkably, would
still have time to kill before we would
get the call that they were ready to be
picked up.
Eventually, they loved Hannah so

much that we just started going out as
a foursome, double dating. Looking to
also give her some advice, Bill never
failed to ask Hannah what she was
“doing with a fella like [me].”
After we were married, he started
telling her, “I tried to warn you — you
should have listened to me.”
Hannah and I are eight months into
our own marriage now, and there are
no two individuals better fit to be role
models for a long and loving marriage
than Bill and Mrs. Berman.
I asked Bill if he had advice for
Hannah and me before our wedding.
After a brief pause, Bill’s response was
“make sure there is film.” Apparently, at
his wedding to Mrs. Berman 66 years
before, the photographer had forgotten
the film — there are no photos.
I’ve come to appreciate Bill’s response
more than he may ever have known.
While he may have meant it literally,
I think it serves well as a Bill Berman
life message: Don’t forget to capture the
moment.

ZEST FOR LIFE
So how is it that after nearly a century,
Bill’s passing has come as such a shock
to so many?
Bill was the closest we’ve ever had
to a real-life Energizer Bunny. His
philosophy on life was as simple as it
was straight-forward: “Wake up early,
go to bed late and work your tail off in
between.” At 99, he lived each day with
an inspiring intensity of unparalleled
work ethic.
In our many rides together, what I
came to love most about Bill was that he
seemed to always add to that work ethic
a heavy dose of laughter and sarcasm.
I loved that about him — he always
made sure to enjoy the ride.
What really exemplifies the essence
of Bill was his zest for life and his abil-
ity to defy age while also embracing it.
If you would run into him in any given
October, he was sure to tell you Nov.
18 was just around the corner and that
meant he would be getting another year
under his belt. When I spoke with him
just a few weeks back, he was already
talking about the centennial.
“How many 100-year-old friends do
you have?” he asked.
Bill Berman was a giant among the
truly legendary giants in our communi-
ty and beyond, yet somehow he always
seemed to be the youngest and most
approachable person in the room. At 11
months shy of seeing that 100th birth-
day, Bill made an impact on others, on
our community and on the world that
will be felt far longer than his short life.
I will miss my friend.

*

Adam Kessler is an attorney at Jaffe Raitt Heuer
& Weiss.

continued on page 33

30 January 5 • 2017