soul
of blessed memory
Caring For Seniors And Th e Needy
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
E
xpressions of appreciation contin-
ue to pour in for the late Alvin A.
Weisberg, a notable philanthropist
and businessman who was devoted to
his family.
Mr. Weisberg, 90, of Bloomfield Hills,
died on July 8, 2017.
He was a founding partner of the
Chatham Supermarket chain in south-
east Michigan; then, for 19 years, begin-
ning at age 65, he was the controlling
shareholder of Pet Supplies Plus stores
in four states. Often in tandem with his
wife, Henrietta, he uplifted lives with
generosity on both a small and large
scale. Their legacies include a World War
II-era German box car displayed at the
Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) in
Farmington Hills.
“God made him successful in business
so he could care for others,” said Rabbi
Aaron Starr, eulogizing Mr. Weisberg,
his congregant and friend. The funeral
service was held July 10 at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Mr. Weisberg was born in 1926, the
fourth child of Russian immigrants Clara
(Brown) and Peter Weisberg. After their
wedding in Pittsburgh, the Weisbergs
moved to Mt. Clemens to utilize the
city’s therapeutic mineral baths for
Clara. The children, however, were all
born in Pittsburgh: Bernard, Selma,
Harvey, Alvin and Harold.
A 1945 graduate of Central High
School, Mr. Weisberg was “a grocery guy
from the earliest of ages,” Starr said, cut-
ting meat and attending to the needs of
his father’s White Hill Meat Market on
Alvin Weisberg
Vernor Highway and Lawndale in Detroit.
In 1947, the Weisbergs pooled their
money and bought Chatham Village
Supermarket.
“In the go-go years, they worked up to
70 hours a week to build that business,”
said Alvin’s son, Steven Weisberg.
Alvin Weisberg was Chatham’s vice
president of store construction and
property management.
When the family sold the chain in
1985, they owned 50 supermarkets and
seven health and beauty aid stores.
Chatham was a friendly place to work.
Details of next month’s annual reunion
are on the alumni Facebook page.
On a personal level, Mr. Weisberg
enjoyed a 63-year marriage to the former
Henrietta Gastfrjnd, who often called
him “Mr. Wonderful.” They were atten-
dants in the same wedding party and
married after a five-month engagement.
“They made each other laugh, no
matter how difficult the situation,” Starr
said. “A Yiddish quip here, a touch of sar-
casm there.”
Steven noted in his eulogy, “His love
for her was unshakeable and visible to
see.”
Mr. Weisberg relished being a father.
Steven learned about business from him;
they joked and shmoozed. They took
long drives together.
Julie (Weisberg) Schlafer said her dad
taught her about plumbing and using a
knife to butcher meat.
Lori Weisberg and Steven Schlafer
became two more children, not just
in-laws, when they married Steven and
Julie. The Weisbergs treasured their
grandchildren and one great-grandson.
When grandson Brad read from the
Torah at his bar mitzvah, Starr said, “It
meant the world to Alvin when a learned
man complimented Brad on his trope.”
Speaking about his father, Steven
Weisberg called him “a natural-born
leader and teacher” and said, “I never
met anyone with a greater capacity to
forgive than Alvin Weisberg.
“My father loved people around him
and people loved him back,” Steven said.
“When their luck was down, he helped
with loans, gifts and pep talks.”
Mr. Weisberg believed Jews should
take care of their own. Among many
worthwhile causes, he and Henrietta
generously contributed to the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and
Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network.
He took satisfaction that several ambu-
lances purchased for Mogen David
Adom — one as recently as last fall —
are helping countless Israelis.
The Henrietta and Alvin Weisberg
Gallery at the HMC, open since 2011, is
dedicated to the memory of Henrietta’s
family killed in the Holocaust. The box
car on display is of great significance as
a reminder of the Shoah.
“The Weisberg Gallery impacts each
visitor as they enter the museum,” said
Cheryl Guyer, director of development.
Mr. Weisberg grew up at Shaarey
Zedek, joining officially with Henrietta
in 1953. Their children received strong
Jewish educations. Starr announced that
“by the High Holidays, the brand-new
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