jews d
in
the
on the cover
‘Holy Ground’
Solemn and beautiful,
Clover Hill Park Cemetery
marks its 100th anniversary.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
PHOTOS BY ANTHONY LANZILOTE
A
beautiful quiet fills everything here.
Small, soft hills and a nature area where
you may see a fox or deer, even in the middle
of winter. Bright flowers in spring. More than 300
trees whose leaves spill, as if in a dance, throughout
autumn. Warm light that comes by and covers your
shoulders on a summer evening.
Clover Hill Park Cemetery is the final resting place
of Metro Detroit’s most prominent Jewish figures,
including Max Fisher, William “Bill” Davidson, David
Hermelin and Mandell “Bill” Berman, and some of its
greatest tragedies, like Rabbi Morris Adler and the
man who killed him, Richard Wishnetsky, and Florence
Stern, whose husband, Mark Unger, was convicted of
her murder in 2006.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Clover
Hill Park Cemetery was established by Congregation
Shaarey Zedek and “offers families the perfect oppor-
tunity to respectfully lay their loved ones to rest, as
well as a serene setting in which to fondly recall cher-
ished memories,” says Shaarey Zedek’s Rabbi Aaron
Starr. “With a commitment to Jewish tradition and
openness to today’s modern Jewish family, Clover Hill
Park Cemetery takes seriously the mitzvah (sacred
obligation) of kavod hamet (honoring the deceased).”
Clover Hill is “excellently situated for the purpose to
which it is to be dedicated,” reads the cemetery’s first
book of rules and regulations. “It is within walking
distance from Woodward Ave., conveniently accessible
over good thoroughfares and lines of travel, and is in
the midst of a most beautiful suburban section.”
That suburban section was Troy Township (today
Birmingham), an area to which the Jewish community
was believed to be moving. Clover Hill Park Cemetery
was designed with space for 26,000 graves, 14,500 of
which already have been occupied and another 5,000
of which have been sold.
The first cemetery board was chaired by David
S. Zemon and included Joseph Wetsman, William
Friedman, David R. Stocker, Jacob Nathan and
continued on page 14
12
April 5 • 2018
jn