62 | SEPTEMBER 19 • 2019 

Soul
of blessed memory

Mrs. Bernstein is survived 
by her daughter, Gail; 
sons, Ralph and Mark 
(Sharon); grandson, Allen 
(Amanda); granddaughter, 
Rebecca (Cassandra); great-
granddaughters, Kayleigh 
and Krystiana. 
She was preceded in death 
by her parents; husband, 
Allen; brother, Howard; 
daughter-in-law, Linda 
(Ralph); daughter-in-law, 
Penny (Gail); and grandson, 
John. 
Interment was at 
Beth El Memorial Park. 
Contributions may be 
made to Educational 
Theatre Foundation, 4805 
Montgomery Road, Suite 
400, Cincinnati, OH 
45212, educationalthe 
atrefoundation.org/give-a-
gift. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

MARY 
BOYER, 100, of 
West Bloomfield, 
died Sept. 10, 
2019.
She is survived 
her sons and daughters-in-
law, Kenneth and Ronny 
Boyer, Melvin and Jackie 
Boyer; daughter and son-
in-law, Lenore and E.J. 
Piotrowski; grandchildren, 
Marc (Ruth) Wilner, Kevin 
Wilner, Randy (Tory) Boyer, 
Cory (Heather) Boyer, 
Shelli (Max) Anderson, 
Amy (Matt) Lytle, Cary 
(Karen) Piotrowski, and 
Craig (Mary) Piotrowski; 
great-grandchildren, Julia, 
Helena, Lizzy, Cole, Anna, 
Lucas, Charlie, Hannah, 
Michael, Sam, Ally, Sammy, 
Daniel, Lizzie, Andrew, 
Matthew, Dylan, Liam and 

Ruby.
Interment took place at 
B’
nai Israel Cemetery in 
Novi. Contributions may 
be made to the Friendship 
Circle or to a charity of 
one’
s choice. Arrangements 
by Dorfman Chapel. 

ZEV BRICKER, 48, of Oak 
Park, died Sept. 6, 2019.
He is survived by his 
parents, Sara and Joseph 
Bricker of Oak Park; sister 
and brother-in-law, Rozy 
and Menachem Harris of 
Brooklyn, N.Y.; loving 
nieces, nephew, uncles and 
aunts. 
Contributions may be 
made to Yeshiva Beth 
Yehudah, P
.O. Box 2044, 
Southfield, MI 48037; 
Yeshiva Gedolah, 24600 
Greenfield, Oak Park, MI 
48237; Young Israel of Oak 
Park, 15140 W. 10 Mile 
Road, Oak Park, MI 48237; 
or Project Eruv, (248) 968-
Eruv. 
Interment was held at 
Hebrew Memorial Park. 
Arrangements by Hebrew 
Memorial Chapel.

GERALD 
COLE, 83, of 
Southfield, died 
Sept. 11, 2019. 
He is survived 
by his beloved 
wife, Vivian Cole; sons 
and daughter-in-law, 
Matthew and Dana Cole, 
Benjamin Cole; grandchild, 
Ava Cole; sister, Florence 
Shapiro; many loving nieces, 
nephews, other family 
members and friends. 
Mr. Cole was the brother 
of the late Lou Cole; the 
brother-in-law of the late 

Resistance Rescuer
Dead At 99
D

iet Eman, 99, died 
Sept. 3, 2019, at 
Samaritas Living 
Center in Grand Rapids.
She was born in The Hague, 
Netherlands. 
World War II came to 
Holland when she 
was 20. When the 
injustices against 
the Jews began in 
Holland, Diet and 
her fiance, Hein 
Sietsma, knew they 
had to help the 
Jewish people, so 
they united to form 
a Resistance group 
called Help Elkander 
in Nood or “helping 
each other in need.” Hein was 
one of the group leaders. Diet 
risked her life obtaining identi-
fication documents and deliver-
ing messages across Holland. 
In 2016, Eman spoke at 
Farber Hebrew Day School 
and later at Young Israel of 
Southfield, recounting mem-
ories as recorded in her book 
Things We Couldn’
t Say.
She recalled the difficulties 
in getting food for the hidden 
Jews. Forged papers had to be 
obtained so people in hiding 
could lay claim to some of the 
insufficient rations available.
Isolated farmhouses made 
good hiding places as did a 
rural monastery and a hotel 
devoid of guests. One woman, 
she recalls, had a small apart-
ment in The Hague and she 
kept 29 Jews.
One evening, a Gestapo offi-
cer came for Diet. Her father 
said that his daughter was a 
wild girl who went out and did 
not come back until the next 
morning. The officer commis-
erated, “I have a daughter like 
that, too.” Learning of this 
visit, Diet knew she could not 
stay at home. She hardly saw 
her parents over the next two 
years.

Once when she was caught, 
she was imprisoned in a cell 
for one person that held five. 
Diet remembers, “It had no 
toilet, no water to get clean.” 
When taken for questioning, 
she refused to admit that she 
knew German. The 
inquisitors had to get a 
translator, which gave 
her time to figure out 
what to tell them.
Eventually, she was 
captured and sent to 
Vught concentration 
camp, from where she 
was released. Hein, 
likewise, was captured 
and imprisoned at 
Dachau, but he did not 
leave it alive.
After the war, Diet moved 
to Venezuela. Her fiancé had 
worked for Shell Oil and the 
company offered to hire her. 
She worked as a nurse for 
Shell. Eventually, she moved 
to the United States, spend-
ing most of her life in Grand 
Rapids. Diet worked as a 
translator and volunteered 
for the Red Cross and the 
Luke Society. She became an 
American citizen in 2007.
President Eisenhower per-
sonally thanked her for her 
contributions during wartime 
efforts; Yad Vashem, Israel’
s 
Holocaust museum, named 
her “Righteous Among the 
Nations” for saving Jews during 
the Holocaust; and King 
Willem-Alexander deemed her 
a “National Hero” during his 
visit to Grand Rapids in June 
2015.
Diet Eman is survived by her 
two children, Mark Erlich and 
Joy Coe; and her granddaugh-
ter, Mary Gray. 
Contributions may be 
made to Degage Ministry, 
144 Division Ave. South, 
Grand Rapids, MI 
49503, degageministry.org, 
click the “donate now” link. 

Eman

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