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In Remembrance
Of Norm Keane

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March 1 • 2018

jn

Right before he retired, my former
boss called me into his office. He
said he had been thinking about
what to leave behind for me and
decided that a black-and-white litho-
graph would stay on the wall.
At the time, I wasn’t that touched
by this specific gesture as I was more
overwhelmed about everything else
regarding moving into Norm Keane’s
office and doing his job. Here was a
guy who for decades had been lead-
ing JFSes around the country and
was at the forefront of the entire
“movement.” His final 13-year gig
blessed Jewish Family Service of
Metropolitan Detroit, our Jewish
community and the entire region.
Norm died a couple of weeks ago.
He was a completely vibrant 76-year-
old one day and gone the next.
He moved to Detroit for the job
at JFS with his wife, Mary Keane,
who became the executive direc-
tor of Hebrew Free Loan. They both
retired in fall 2011 and returned to
Cleveland to be with their family.
Norm continued to do what he did
while a professional … helping peo-
ple. This time, in retirement, without
the stresses of budgets and board
meetings.
He was completely passionate
about his work at the Lakeside Men’s
Shelter with returning citizens. This
was the same passion he had when
he began his career as an outreach
worker, reaching out to teenagers in
Cleveland who needed some atten-
tion to help find their way.
Prior to Detroit, Norm started his
career at the Jewish Family Service
Association of Cleveland, working
his way up to an executive. He then
moved to Tucson, where he was a
nursing home administrator before
he became the executive director of
Jewish Children and Family Services
— Tucson. His next post was leading
the Jewish Family and Community
Services of Pittsburgh and then on to
Detroit.
Norm helped transform Jewish
Family Service in Detroit to a true
modern multiservice organization,
adding and expanding essential ser-
vices and moving us into our current
Orley Family Building. When talk-
ing about JFS’ Project Chessed, one
of Norm’s huge accomplishments
(which helped thousands get access
to health care before the Affordable
Care Act), I often reference Norm
saying something like, “I never ever
thought that a JFS would ever need
to be in the business of health care,

Norm Keane and Perry Ohren

Midrash

but no one else was doing it so we
just had to.”
Norm was a no-nonsense-feelings-
on-his-sleeve kind of guy. While he
listened to and respected his col-
leagues, he also was easy leading
and deciding. He was scrappy and
old-fashioned while also able to see
where the puck was going. He was
an Indians fan turned Tigers fan
turned Indians fan again. He didn’t
like tomatoes and he really liked
chocolate chip cookies. He cared
deeply. Very deeply.
My condolences go out to Mary
Keane; her children, Sam Keane and
Rich and Jen Cochran; and grand-
children, Josie, Issy and Sophie. More
than anything, Norm loved his fam-
ily! This is shocking and so sad, and
we are all better because Norm was
fully with us while he was here doing
what he did so well as a friend, a
relative and a colleague.
As the days and weeks and
months go by, we will, of course, fig-
ure out appropriate ways to continue
to honor Norm’s memory and legacy.
Personally, I am forever indebted
to Norman Robert Keane. From the
very first time he grilled me in an
interview in 2003 to every next step
in our collegial relationship and
friendship. Norm hired me and men-
tored me and did what he could do
to help me succeed him.
The lithograph by Charles Bragg
is titled Midrash. It’s a bunch of rab-
bis trying to make sense of what
they inherited and how to pass it on
to the next generation. I get it now.
Thank you, Norm.

Perry Ohren
CEO, Jewish Family Service