soul

of blessed memory

Devoted Family Man,
Generous Philanthropist

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

M

anuel “Manny” Charach was
a self-made man, a devoted
husband and father, success-
ful entrepreneur and a generous yet
humble philanthropist. Manny, who
lived in West Bloomfield with his wife
of 71 years, Natalie, died on July 14,
2017, at the age of 92.
Growing up in Pittsburgh during
the Depression, Manny learned to
appreciate the value of working hard
and realized the importance of using
the fruits of his labor to help others
in his community and throughout the
world. Today, many buildings and pro-
grams bear his name, a testament to
his entrepreneurial skill and generous
heart.
After Pearl Harbor was attacked,
Manny was eager to serve his country,
but his father insisted he finish high
school first. As soon as he graduated,
he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was
sent overseas, where he participated
in the invasion of Normandy and con-
tinued on to Paris and Germany. After
saving several of his fellow soldiers
during combat and being wounded in
Germany, he received a Bronze Star,
two Purple Hearts and the French
Legion of Honor for his bravery.
After the war, he came to Detroit
to attend a party for one of his Army
buddies, where he met Natalie.
Instantly smitten, he proposed the
very next day and began planning his
move to Detroit. The two were mar-
ried a few months later, beginning a
partnership that included children,
travel and a mutual desire to help oth-
ers in need.
Manny worked at various jobs
and eventually became a sales rep-
resentative for a Japanese business
called Matsushita Electric Industrial
Company. While meeting with the
firm’s top executives in Japan, Manny
suggested they change their name
to “Sonic” to counteract the anti-
Japanese sentiment that existed after
World War II. After further discussion,
the company was renamed Panasonic,
and Manny was one of its most
esteemed salesmen.

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July 27 • 2017

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Manuel Charach

In 1965, he decided to start his
own company, Manny Charach
Associates Inc., headquartered in West
Bloomfield. The company continued
to grow, selling electronics to an ever-
widening number of retail outlets and
national chains. Despite his enormous
success, when asked what he did for a
living, Manny’s favorite response was,
“I’m a peddler.”
As his business grew, so did his phil-
anthropic activities as he and Natalie
realized their shared passion for help-
ing others. They supported many
causes, including providing the fund-
ing for several vehicles used by Jewish
Family Service to transport older
adults and people with disabilities to
medical appointments, day programs
and other activities.
Fond memories of his weeklong
experience at a Pittsburgh camp
for children of immigrants in 1935
prompted Manny to provide sup-
port for the Clara and Irvin Charach
Tamarack Museum. Named in honor
of his parents, Clara and Irvin, the
museum now accommodates year-
round visitors in a rustic space inside
the main building of Tamarack’s
Smoklerville Pioneer Village near the
entrance to Camp Maas.

“Manny’s mantra was dignity, hon-
esty and giving,” said Rabbi Irving
Schnipper, who officiated at the funer-
al service.
Schnipper recalls the day he told
Manny that many single mothers were
having trouble paying their synagogue
dues and children’s b’nai mitzvot
expenses because their income had
decreased after getting divorced.
Without being asked, Manny wrote
a check for $50,000 to start a fund at
Congregation Beth Ahm to help single
parents maintain their family’s con-
nection with the synagogue.
“There was no hesitation; that’s
the way it was with everything,” said
Schnipper. “If somebody needed it,
Manny and his ‘driving force,’ Natalie,
came through.”
In memory of their daughter, Janice,
a talented artist who passed away
at the age of 38, Manny and Natalie
established the Janice Charach Gallery,
which occupies 7,200 square feet in
the lobby of the West Bloomfield JCC.
The gallery, which has been featured
in the New York Times, hosts exhibi-
tions of work by Jewish and non-Jew-
ish established and emerging artists
in a variety of media including glass,
ceramics, multi-media, painting, fiber
arts and photography.
Because Israel held a special place
in their hearts, the Charachs gener-
ously supported a variety of Israeli
causes, including the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF). They donated a record
number of 40 ambulances to Magen
David Adom (MDA). For many years,
Manny served as local chair of the
AFMDA (American Friends of Magen
David Adom) Michigan Chapter, help-
ing to raise more than $38 million
for the organization since 1967. They
helped build the Natalie and Manny
Charach Ashdod MDA Emergency
Medical Station, sponsored specialized
equipment at the MDA National Blood
Services Center and provided scholar-
ships to train the next generation of
paramedics.
Despite the many programs that
bear their name, such as the Natalie
and Manny Charach Religious School
at Congregation Beth Ahm in West

Bloomfield and the Natalie and Manny
Charach Cancer Treatment Center at
DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, the
Charachs never sought recognition.
Their only goal was to help those who
needed it, which they did, generously
and often anonymously.
“He was a humble man of great
vision,” Schnipper said. “They [the
Charachs] were modest … a very
friendly couple, real human beings.”
Manny loved children, his own and
the many nieces and nephews with
whom he shared close relationships.
He enjoyed meeting his friends at the
weekly lunch-and-learn classes led by
Rabbi Schnipper, and he was quick to
tell or appreciate a good joke.
“He had a full life; he did everything
he wanted to do, and he did it his way,”
said his wife, Natalie.
Manny is survived by his beloved
wife of 71 years, Natalie; son, Jeffrey
Charach; sisters-in-law, Esther Hankin
and Doris Shulman; loving caregiv-
ers, Gina, Erica and Sade; many loving
nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grand-
nephews and a world of friends.
He was the proud father of the
late Janice Charach; the devoted son
of the late Irvin and the late Clara
Charach; the loving son in-law of the
late Joseph and the late Rose Miller;
the dear brother-in-law of the late
Henry Hankin and the late Herschel
Shulman.
Interment was at Machpelah
Cemetery. Contributions may be
made to the Jewish Community
Center, Janice Charach Gallery, 6600
W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI
48322, www.jccdet.org; Jewish Family
Service, Transportation Services, 6555
W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield,
MI 48322, www.jfsdetroit.org; Jewish
Hospice & Chaplaincy Network,
6555 W. Maple, West Bloomfield,
MI 48322, www.jewishhospice.org;
Kadima, 15999 W. 12 Mile, Southfield,
MI 48076, www.kadimacenter.org;
or Tamarack Camps, 6735 Telegraph
Road, #380, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301,
www.tamarackcamps.com/tributes.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. •

