56 April 25 • 2019
jn
O
n the surface, Jonathan
“Jon” Paley Wolman exem-
plified the classic newsman
of a bygone era, an exacting editor
who sought the truth and wasn’
t
afraid of its consequences. Beneath
that exterior was a kindhearted and
compassionate husband
and father, a loyal friend
and a generous mentor.
Jon, editor and publish-
er of the Detroit News,
died April 15, 2019, at age
68 of complications from
pancreatic cancer.
He grew up in Madison,
Wis., with his par-
ents, Anne and Martin
Wolman, and his four
siblings. He was born
into the newspaper busi-
ness; his father was publisher of the
Wisconsin State Journal, where Jon
started as a young newsboy.
Jon attended the University of
Colorado and transferred to the
University of Wisconsin. After grad-
uation, he was hired as a reporter
at the Associated Press (AP) bureau
in Madison. When he called home
to announce his new position, his
father literally beamed with pride.
That job was the start of a 31-year
career with the AP that included
a two-year stint in Detroit before
joining the AP Washington bureau.
Over the next 23 years, he rose to
the position of bureau chief before
he was promoted to the AP’
s New
York bureau, where he eventually
became executive editor.
Along the way, Jon met his future
wife, Deborah Lamm, in Tucson.
She was working at an event Jon had
been assigned to cover, the annual
meeting of the U.S. Conference of
Mayors in Tucson. Happily, both
were living in D.C. at the time, and
their relationship quickly blos-
somed. They were married in 1978
and spent the next 40 years in a
marriage that reflected their deep
love and mutual respect.
Their three children, Sophie,
Emma and Jacob, were the lights
of Jon’
s life, and their happiness
was paramount. Speaking at the
funeral service, his daughter Emma
described her father as a purpose-
ful person who took everyone and
everything seriously.
“He was remarkably
uninterested in status,” she
said. “He was difficult to
impress and unflinchingly
honest.”
His son, Jacob, remem-
bers his father always mak-
ing time for the family and
providing invaluable guid-
ance in a variety of areas
ranging from finances to
career choices to tennis.
“Everything that made
him a great reporter, editor, man-
ager and publisher carried over to
his relationships with family and
friends,” Jacob said.
Jon left the AP to become edito-
rial page editor at the Denver Post
in 2004. Three years later, he moved
to Michigan to become editor and
publisher of the Detroit News. He
steered the paper through challeng-
ing economic times and provided
guidance for such important stories
as the city’
s bankruptcy and the
Flint water crisis.
Throughout his career, his pas-
sion was politics. He loved covering
presidential campaigns and helped
spearhead the AP’
s coverage of the
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Jon was ahead of his time as an
advocate for diversity and opportu-
nities for women in the newsroom.
He was known as an encouraging
but firm mentor who challenged
his employees to become their best
selves.
“I became better at what I did
because Jon made me fight for what
I wanted to say,” said Nolan Finley,
Detroit News editorial page editor.
Jon was an avid reader, a man
who was quiet but social. While
he enjoyed a good celebration, he
avoided the limelight, preferring
to mentor others and watch them
succeed.
“He would collect family and
friends and never let them go,”
Emma said.
Like other print journalists of his
time, he preferred casual shirts and
Dockers to suits and ties. He carried
a well-worn book bag and typed
with two fingers. When he sat down
to edit a story, he would pull down
his suspenders, roll up his shirt-
sleeves and stick a pen in the corner
of his mouth.
“Jon was a giant of journalism
and one of the most religious people
I ever knew, not so much in ritual
observance but in values, principles,
ethics, decency and love,” said Rabbi
Daniel Syme of Temple Beth El,
where the Wolmans were members.
Jon is survived by his beloved wife
of 40 years, Deborah Eve Lamm;
cherished children, Jacob Wolman,
Emma (Ian Irvine) Wolman and
Sophie Wolman; loving siblings,
Natalie (David Fulker) Wolman,
Ruth (Bruce) Henderson, Lewis
(Eletise) Wolman; dear brother-in-
law, Richard (Cindy Levine) Lamm.
He was the devoted son of the
late J. Martin and the late Anne
Wolman; brother of the late Jane
Wolman. Jon is also survived by
many loving nieces, nephews, cous-
ins and friends.
Interment took place in
Wisconsin. Contributions in mem-
ory of Jonathan Paley Wolman
may be directed to the Committee
to Protect Journalists, 330 7th
Ave., 11th Floor, New York, NY
10001, (212) 465-1004, cpj.org; the
University of Wisconsin School
of Journalism, 821 University
Ave., Madison, WI 53706, (608)
263-4898, journalism.wisc.edu;
Jewish Family Service, 6555 W.
Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI
48322, (248) 592-2300; jfsdetroit.
org or a charity of one’
s choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. ■
A Quintessential Newsman
RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
soul
of blessed memory
DR. MATTHEW L.
BURMAN, of
Southfield, passed
away April 15, 2019.
He was an ophthal-
mologist who prac-
ticed in Detroit and
the metropolitan area for more than
40 years. He served his country in
the U.S. Air Force.
Dr. Burman is survived by his
wife, Estela Burman; daughters,
Gabriella (Adam Kaplan) Burman,
and Naomi (Jonathan) Shanke; his
grandchildren, Ayelet, Maayan and
Ilanit Kaplan, and Daniel, Sam,
Orly and Lilly Shanker.
He was predeceased by his grand-
daughter, Michaela Kaplan.
Interment took place in Bet
Shemesh, Israel. Contributions
in his memory can be made to
Friendship Circle, Yad Ezra, the
Kollel Institute of Detroit or a char-
ity of your choice. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
SIMI CUTLER, 93, of
Ann Arbor, died April
15, 2019.
She is survived by
her husband of 72
years, Aaron Zelig
Cutler; daughter
and son-in-law, Elana and Ronald
Sussman; son and daughter-in-
law, Dan Cutler and Chris Merrill;
grandchildren, Mira Sussman
and Doron Yitzchaki, Ari and
Jaimie Sussman, Eitan and Joanna
Sussman, Naomi and Grant Barton,
and Sadie Cutler; great-grand-
children, Matan, Ishai and Judah
Sussman-Yitzchaki, Samuel and
Anna Sussman, Nava and Ilan
Sussman, and Nora and Phoebe
Barton; other loving relatives and
friends here and in Israel.
Mrs. Cutler was the loving sister
of the late Sidney and the late Sylvia
Bernstein; the dear sister-in-law of
the late Basha and the late Morton
Shalev.
Interment was in Beth Israel
Memorial Garden at Arborcrest
Cemetery. Contributions may be
made to University of Michigan
Hospital Palliative Care, 300 N.
Ingalls, Room 901, Ann Arbor, MI
48109-2007, medicine.umich.edu/
dept/dgpm/palliative-medicine-
university-michigan; Arbor Hospice
Foundation, 2366 Oak Valley Drive,
Jonathan Wolman