soul

of blessed memory

“Incredible Renaissance Woman”

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

J

udi Schram lived an
inspirational life, led
by her indomitable
spirit, generous heart
and remarkable and var-
ied repertoire of skills.
She was a dedicated
speech pathologist; a
dynamic volunteer and
philanthropist; a tal-
ented poet, playwright,
blogger and author;
Judi Schram
and, most importantly,
a devoted and passion-
ate wife, mother, grand-
mother and friend.
Judi, who lived in Bloomfield Hills
and Del Ray Beach, Fla., with her hus-
band, Bradley, died Dec. 6 after being
diagnosed with kidney cancer earlier
this year. She was 67.
Described by her daughter, Ali, as
“the most courageous person I’ve ever
met,” Judi was vivacious, intuitive and
creative, with an infectious laugh that
was recognizable in the most crowded
room. She loved dancing and acting,
participating in Harriet Berg’s Festival
Dancers and numerous community
theater productions. Despite her many
talents and proclivity for attracting a
loyal following of friends and admir-
ers, Judi was humble, unaware of the
impression she made or the positive
impact she had on so many people.
She grew up in Oak Park with her
sister, Linda, and her brother, Jeffrey.
The family moved to Southfield, where
she met her future husband, Brad, on
the first day of eighth grade at Lederle
Junior High. The two remained
inseparable, attending Southfield
High School and, later, the University
of Michigan, where Judi went on to
obtain a master’s degree in speech
pathology. They were married in 1974.
Theirs was a storybook romance,
filled with mutual love, respect and
support. In a home filled with kind-
ness and unconditional love, they
raised three accomplished children,
whom they taught to value effort over
achievement and that helping others
was more important than monetary
gain. Judi was the consummate moth-
er, staying up late to help with school
projects and sending a supply of let-
ters on the camp bus to make sure
the kids never missed a day of mail.
She was a “health nut” before it was

in vogue, using carob-
coated raisins instead
of M&M’s as a reward
for the kids during toi-
let training. She spent
hours searching for the
perfect rug or acces-
sory to decorate their
dorm rooms and, later,
their first apartments.
Judi and Brad loved
traveling and shared
many adventures: from
scaling the summit of
Machu Pichu to destina-
tions such as India, China, Europe,
Africa and Thailand. Their homes
were filled with souvenirs from their
many trips, which Judi valued more
than the most priceless artifact.
She looked forward to becoming
a grandmother; her granddaughter,
Eden, born to daughter, Ali, this fall,
was the light of her life. Judi was look-
ing forward to her second grandchild,
born the day after her death to her
son Justin and wife, Kate. He was
named Jade Ezra in Judi’s memory.
After obtaining her degree, Judi
built a thriving practice as a speech
pathologist for children. She worked
from home, where she could be avail-
able for her children while helping her
many young clients.
After retiring from her practice,
Judi entered the next “act” of her
life as an energetic volunteer, tak-
ing on leadership roles that included
president of the Greater Detroit
Chapter of Hadassah and member
of the national board, chair of Anti-
Defamation League-Michigan Region
and a national ADL commissioner,
and an active board member of the
Women’s Division Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit and Temple
Israel.
Her next role was as an “unwitting”
author and playwright, where her
writing took a lighthearted look at
aging for female baby boomers. She
wrote a popular blog called “Judi’s
Musings” and a series of poems that
evolved into a book called Lights Out
in the Attic. The poems morphed
into to the hilarious play, What Am
I Doing Here?, which has been per-
formed numerous times in Michigan,
Colorado and Florida. She also wrote
the soon-to-be-published Henry and

Harper series of 20 children’s books.
During the last few years, she took up
painting and mosaics, leaving a legacy
of books, poetry and artwork, all
imbued with her signature creativity
and irrepressible spirit.
Described as an “incredible renais-
sance woman” by Rabbi Paul Yedwab
of Temple Israel, who officiated the
moving funeral service, Judi looked
for, and found, the silver lining in any
situation. Even during her illness,
she expressed gratitude for her many
blessings, describing her life as a
“charmed existence.” She believed that
building community created pathways
for repairing the world, and she made
lasting connections built on sincerity,
kindness and compassion.
A quote from her own writing sum-
marizes her remarkable attitude: “I
lived a life filled to the brim and then
some. It doesn’t get much better than
that.”
Judi is survived by her beloved
husband, Brad Schram; cherished
children, Zachary Schram, Dr. Justin
(Kate Zyskowski) Schram and Dr.
Ali (Dr. Danny Gorovets) Schram;
grandchildren, Eden Gorovets and
Jade Ezra Schram; adored sister and
brother, Linda (Jeffrey) Golding and
Jeffrey (life partner Kimberly Davis)
Rapoport; dear sisters- and brothers-
in-law, Douglas (Lynette) Schram,
Debra (Shalom) Friedman and Walter
(Kim) Schram.
She was the devoted daughter of
the late Harriet and the late Frederick
Rapoport; stepdaughter of the late
Rhoda Gross Rapoport; and dear
daughter-in-law of the late Carl and
the late Shirley Schram. She is also
survived by many loving nieces,
nephews and a world of friends.
Interment was at Machpelah
Cemetery. Contributions may be
directed to the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL), Judi Schram Education
Fund, 6600 W. Maple Road, West
Bloomfield, MI 48322, (248) 353-7553,
michigan.adl.org/tag/detroit; or
Hadassah-Greater Detroit Chapter,
the Hadassah Doll Project, 5030
Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield,
MI 48323, (248) 683-5030, www.
hadassah.org/detroit.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. •

Romanian King,
Friend To Jews,
Dies At 96

K

ing Michael of Romania
died Tuesday at age 96.
At age 22, he boldly
ousted the country’s dictator, Ion
Antonescu, the fascist dictator of
Romania, who was a puppet of
Hitler.
“King Michael
was a great friend
of the Jewish
people, who
pushed back
against Hitler’s
cronies and, in
turn, helped pre-
emptively save
King Michael
thousands of lives
during World War
II,” said World
Jewish Congress President Ronald
S. Lauder.
“He was also a true defender of
democracy, in the face of the worst
totalitarian regimes and, even
after forced by the Communists to
abdicate and flee to exile, he con-
tinued throughout his life to look
out for his country and implore
Romanians to confront the darkest
chapters in their history.
“Hundreds of thousands of Jews
died in Romania at the hands
of the pro-German Antonescu
regime, more than by the forces of
any country other than the Third
Reich, and without King Michael’s
firm intervention and renuncia-
tion of ties with the Axis powers,
countless more would have also
lost their lives,” Lauder said.
“In the years following the
Holocaust, King Michael famously
called on Romanians to memorial-
ize the Jews who suffered at the
hands of their brethren, declaring
‘They will be forever our country-
men, our brothers and sisters
— I urge you: Remember them,’”
Lauder added.
“King Michael’s mother, Queen
Elena, has been recognized by Yad
Vashem as a Righteous Gentile
in her own right. Let us cher-
ish her memory along with King
Michael’s, as righteous, coura-
geous and honorable individuals
who selflessly fought against evil
and whose good deeds should
serve as example still today.” •

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December 14 • 2017

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