soul

of blessed memory

continued from page 51

Everyday Hero

Helping Th ose In Need

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

G

W

ith his courageous spirit, gener-
ous heart and irrepressible sense
of humor, Adam Niskar was an
inspiration to everyone who knew him.
Adam, who lived in Bloomfield Township
with his beloved wife, Lisa,
and their daughter, Macy,
passed away peacefully on July
31, 2017, surrounded by his
devoted family and friends.
Adam was a bright and
strong-willed child who
enjoyed playing sports and
spending happy times with
his brother, Ross. After gradu-
ating from Michigan State
University, Adam worked at
Quicken Loans, where he
Niskar
rose through the ranks as his
natural talent for helping the
people around him develop their strengths
was recognized and rewarded.
When he was 26 years old, Adam had a
tragic diving accident that caused him to
become a quadriplegic. It was then that his
true spirit shone through as he accepted his
circumstances with grace and his requisite
good humor. He amazed and inspired his
family as well as his medical team as he
determinedly began a vigorous rehabilita-
tion program the day after surgery. Over
the past 18 years, Adam befriended and
inspired many other accident survivors and
their families and used his experience to
educate physicians and nurses on how to
help patients in similar situations.
Adam eventually returned to work at
Quicken, where he was a successful team
leader and a company-wide inspiration. It
was there that he met Lisa, his soulmate,
and the two developed a close friend-
ship that culminated in marriage and the
miraculous birth of a daughter, Macy, now
7. Macy was the light of Adam’s life, and the
two enjoyed playing hide-and-seek, per-
forming experiments that involved slime
and bubble gum and doing wheelchair laps

around the house with Macy riding on her
father’s lap. At Macy’s dance recitals and
competitions, Adam was her most vocal
cheerleader.
Knowing their time together was likely
to be cut short, Adam and Lisa
made the most of every day.
They enjoyed romantic cruises,
dancing the nights away like
teenagers, and they were always
ready for the next adventure.
A moving journal Adam wrote
about his experience inspired
Dan Gilbert, Detroit entrepre-
neur and founder of Quicken
Loans, to help support a feature
film about Adam’s life produced
by Gilbert Films, a Los Angeles-
based production company
owned by Dan’s brother, Gary
Gilbert. Filmed in Detroit, Grounded (origi-
nally titled Quad), starred Breaking Bad’s
Aaron Paul as Adam.
“He was my foremost No. 1 teacher and
mentor in the area of happiness,” said Rabbi
Paul Yedwab of Temple Israel, where Adam
enjoyed attending services.
Yedwab, who officiated at Adam’s funeral
service, which more than 1,000 people
attended, recalled Adam’s remarkable atti-
tude after his accident.
“Moving one finger a little further than
he could the day before made him happy,”
Yedwab said. “He was a precious, coura-
geous inspirational force.”
Adam is survived by his beloved wife, Lisa
Niskar; daughter, Macy Niskar; loving par-
ents, Arlene Niskar and Jerry Niskar; broth-
er, Ross Niskar; sister, Leah Niskar; mother-
in-law, Judy Meister; niece, Bella Niskar. He
is also survived by many other loving family
members and a world of devoted friends.
Contributions may be made to the Adam
Niskar Memorial Trust for Macy Niskar at
GoFundMe, www.gofundme.com/
myheroadamniskar. Arrangements by
Dorfman Chapel. •

raham Landau,
93, of Bloomfield
Hills, died Aug.
3, 2017. He devoted
more than four decades
to Hebrew Free Loan
and significantly con-
tributed to its growth.
Like his father, Graham
was a past president of
Hebrew Free Loan who
continued his valued
Landau
voluntary activities for
many years following his
presidency.
He helped Jews in Detroit — and
then across the country as he was
instrumental in nationalizing the
organization — overcome their
economic distress and guide them
to additional resources in the
Jewish community. In the 1970s,
Mr. Landau helped the organi-
zation’s establishment of the
International Association of Jewish
Free Loans (IAJFL) and brought
together free loan associations
from the United States, Canada,
Israel and Australia. Through this
affiliation, HFL has been able to
learn from and share with others
about new loan programs and best
practices.
Mr. Landau was also a trustee of
the Louis C. and Edith Blumberg
Foundation.
Throughout his life, Mr. Landau
carried a strong sense of dedica-
tion to family, Judaism and Israel.
He was born in Detroit on Dec. 11,
1923, to Morris and Anna Landau.
The family were active and lifelong
members of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek. Mr. Landau also was the
grandson of the head rabbi of
Minsk, the capital of Belarus. When
he was a child, the family spent a
year living in Tel Aviv in pre-state
Israel and thus Landau learned

Hebrew and was flu-
ent in the language
all his life.
During WWII,
Landau served as
a private first class
and was awarded
the Century Division
and Commendation
for Outstanding and
Meritorious Service
Award for his hero-
ism in saving the life
of his commanding
officer and other
wounded soldiers in 1942 on a
German battlefield.
After the war, he completed his
degree in textile engineering at
North Carolina State University and
worked his entire life for the family
textile business, the Detroit branch
of Alexander Lamport & Brother.
Mr. Landau is survived by his
wife of 66 years, Alene Landau;
daughter and son-in-law, Julee
Landau Shahon and Dr. Robert
Shahon; son and daughter-in-law,
Irving Marc and Denise Landau;
grandchildren, Chelsea Landau,
Jordan and Brittany Landau, and
Ian Landau; great-granddaughter,
Kiera Landau; sister, Carole
Landau.
Interment was at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery. Contributions may
be directed to Hebrew Free Loan,
6735 Telegraph Road Suite 300,
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, www.
hfldetroit.org; Jewish Hospice
& Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W.
Maple, West Bloomfield, MI 48322,
www.jewishhospice.org; or Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
6735 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield
Hills, MI 48301, action.jewish
detroit.org/tribute/send_a_tribute.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. •

continued on page 54

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