soul

of blessed memory

Visionary, Compassionate Friend, Astute Deal-Maker

ESTHER ALLWEIS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

E

qual parts schmoozer,
visionary, deal maker and
skilled legal counsel is how
many will remember Donald B.
Lifton — lawyer, businessman and
friend.
Donald “Don” Lifton, 79, died at
home in Bloomfield Hills on Sept.
27, 2018. He had battled chronic
lung disease. During his 51-year law
and business career, Don specialized
in corporate restructurings, mergers,
acquisitions and divestitures and,
in 1988, oversaw one of the first
transactions involving the sale of a
U.S. company to China.
Don was the only child born
of Bertha and Maurice Lifton,
Detroiters who owned Wagner
Jewelry from 1947-1980.
He studied at Windsor Mountain
Prep School in Massachusetts,
Oberlin College in Ohio and
Detroit College of Law, now part of
Michigan State University.
Don enlisted in the U.S. Army
Reserves in 1962. After active duty,
he went to law school at night, sold
office machinery during the day and
fulfilled his military requirements
on the weekends.
“He always wanted to be an
attorney,” said his wife, Susan,
a psychotherapist. Don and the
former Susan Grossman met
through mutual friends and married
in September 1964. An active
couple, they played golf and tennis,
skied, ran and bicycled together,
and traveled the world with their
beloved children, Katherine and
Robert.
Former members of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, both
Don and Susan “grew up” attending
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
Early on, Don worked at Sugar,
Schwartz law firm before he and his
friend Mark E. Schlussel started their
own law firm, Schlussel, Lifton. They
grew their firm to more than 100
people, becoming known as Schlussel,

Lifton, Simon, Rands, Kaufman,
Galvin & Jackier.
“Don was filled with ideas,
innovations and a sense of warmth
that naturally drew people to him,”
Schlussel said.
In 1984, Don represented
Detroiters David Hermelin and Bill
Davidson in both buying and then
restructuring Phoenix Steel Company,
with locations outside Philadelphia
and in northern Delaware.
“Phoenix was in dire financial
difficulty when Don and I were
asked to restructure the company
and sell it,” said Jay Alix, who worked
with Don on dozens of business
transactions and turnarounds during
35 years of friendship. With Don’s
early support, Alix founded and built
AlixPartners LLP, the worldwide
turnaround consulting firm.
Alix said Don, 16 years his senior,
“was instrumental in helping me get
off the ground” with his business.
“He loved helping young people who
were just starting out to achieve their
goals and get their big break and then
mentor them.”
After restructuring Phoenix,
Lifton and Alix sold the company

emerging out of the bankruptcy,
which continued to operate
successfully for decades.
“This was a very big, complex
transaction at the time because the
buyer was backed by the People’s
Republic of China,” Alix said. “Don
was the team leader who helped put
the deal together. Later in his career,
Don was honored when asked to give
an important business presentation
to Chinese government leaders in the
Great Hall in Beijing.”
Former law partner Lawrence
Jackier of Jackier Gould in
Bloomfield Hills said, “Don always
approached challenges with a
determined belief that he would find
solutions where others couldn’t; he
almost always was successful.”
Becoming Of Counsel at Miller
Canfield, an international law firm
based in Detroit, was another stop
before Don became an executive
with KDI Corp., an Australian-
based multinational conglomerate.
His work there included two years
in Australia and traveling the
world leading a global business
restructuring with locations across
the Pacific Rim and the U.S.
After KDI, he became vice
chairman of Revstone Industries, a
small U.S. conglomerate focused on
acquisitions and business transactions
that took him frequently to China.
Revstone’s CIO was Rubens
Perdomo, now president of Systems
X Corp. in Chesterfield Township. “I
discovered Don’s brilliance through
our discussions, and his compassion
through his actions,” he said. “Don
provided the courage and assurance
that I can be both a good person and
build a successful business.”
Don was a partner in the Detroit
Jewish News LLC and later became
vice president of the independent
nonprofit Detroit Jewish News
Foundation. Following the passing
of Jewish News owner Charles
A. Buerger in 1996, Don helped

then-Jewish News publisher Arthur
Horwitz purchase the business
from the Buerger family. New York
philanthropist Michael Steinhardt
joined Horwitz in completing that
purchase in 2000.
“Don played key roles — largely
behind the scenes — in strengthening
the Jewish News and shaping the
concept that became the Foundation,”
said Horwitz, president of Jewish
Renaissance Media and executive
editor/publisher of the JN.
F. Kevin Browett, COO and
partner with Horwitz, called Lifton,
his longtime friend, “a deal maker
and connector, all rolled up into
one.” Don brought Browett to the JN
in 2002.
Sheldon Stone of Detroit and Elliot
Gottfurcht, now of Los Angeles, were
Don’s dear friends for 70 years. “The
three of us were always together,
socializing and strategizing,” Sheldon
said. Elliot added, “The bond we had
was incredible and unbreakable —
[Don was] a friend for all seasons.”
Paul Tobias, chairman of Michigan
based mBank, said, “When you were
Don’s friend, he was always there for
you with challenging and valuable
insights. He had the rare ability to
connect with people at a really deep,
personal level.”
Donald Lifton was the beloved
husband for 55 years of Susan; a
devoted father of Katherine “Katie”
(Scott) Small and Robert A. “Rob”
Lifton; and proud grandpa of Harry
Borman and Sam Borman, Samantha
Small and Blake Small.
He was the devoted son of the late
Maurice “Maury” and the late Bertha
“Bert” Lifton.
Interment was at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery. Contributions may
be made to Detroit Jewish News
Foundation, 29200 Northwestern
Highway, Suite 110, Southfield,
MI 48034; (248) 351-5108;
djnfoundation.org. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel. ■

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October 4 • 2018

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