looking back
Tamarack campers are ready to launch their boats for a ride on the lake in this photo from the 1950s. •
Courtesy Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives.
From the DJN Davidson Digital Archive
L
ike many folks in Metro Detroit, I have family members with
developmental disabilities, including a nephew with autism
and a goddaughter with Down syndrome. So, it always makes
me feel good to read about those individuals who devote their lives
and energies to helping children who face challenges in their lives.
An essay by Robert Sklar, former JN editor, in the Oct. 2, 2008,
issue focused on one of these individuals: Joyce Keller.
Sklar wrote about Keller when she was about
to retire from JARC, which began as the “Jewish
Association for Residential Care,” a nonprofit
organization that served people with develop-
mental disabilities. It was founded in 1969 and
still serves nearly 200 residents in 80 locations
today. This is a pretty impressive run for an orga-
nization formed by seven parents concerned
about challenged children.
Mike Smith
Keller earned degrees from the University
Detroit Jewish News
Foundation Archivist
of Michigan and Harvard University. She tried
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July 12 • 2018
jn
teaching as a profession, but that was not for her. When Keller was
in high school, she and her B’nai B’rith chapter visited Coldwater
State Hospital. Seeing the treatment of challenged people firsthand
was a life-changing experience. As Keller related, “The only way
I can describe what happened to me that day is that a seed was
planted in my soul and a seedling took root.”
This was also a very good moment for Detroit’s Jewish commu-
nity. After working for JVS ( formerly Jewish Vocational Services)
for three years, Keller arrived at JARC, when, as founding board
member Norman Wachler said, “She was just a kid in her 20s.” She
spent the next 30 years as the CEO of JARC and, during her tenure,
JARC increased its presence from one residential home to 60, and
three staff members to 230. In short, Keller is one of those people
who make a difference in the world and, in particular, in the Jewish
world in Detroit. •
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.