W
hen Susan
Hershberg Adelman
was growing up
in Rochester, N.Y., she felt she
already had a larger purpose
in life.
“When I was a small child, it
was my hope and belief that I
would make great contributions
to the world,
” she said.
Now, as a 77-year-old woman
living in Southfield, she has
truly made her mark on the
world. Adelman, who retired
from pediatric surgery in 2002,
was among the first female sur-
geons in Metro Detroit. She was
the first female president of the
Michigan State Medical Society
and has done so much more
than just help children who
have needed her medical care.
Since she was 5, Adelman
has been creating art. She
continues to paint and create
jewelry when she’
s not traveling
the world with her husband of
57 years, intellectual property
attorney Martin Adelman. He
is also a professor with George
Washington University Law
School and gives lectures on his
specialty from Seattle to Tokyo.
Oh, and let’
s not forget that
about a year ago, Sue Adelman
published her second book,
After Saturday Comes Sunday, a
far-reaching exploration of the
history of Christian and Jewish
communities in Iraq, Syria
and adjacent countries, and
the language that unites them:
Aramaic — today often referred
to as the Chaldean language.
“I’
m very aware that life is
short,
” she said. “If you don’
t
take the opportunity to make
the world better, you will lose
that opportunity.
”
A DOCTOR IS BORN
Adelman came to the Detroit
area in the late 1950s to attend
the University of Michigan. She
continued on page 16
14 | OCTOBER 31 • 2019
Making
Her Mark
“I’m not really happy unless I’m being
creative. I’m very aware that life is short. If
you don’t take the opportunity to make the
world better, you will lose that opportunity.”
— SUSAN ADELMAN
Susan Adelman’
s many passions drive her
goal of making the world better.
ELIZABETH KATZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Jews in the D
TOP: Martin and Susan Adelman at home in Southfield.
PHOTOS BY SACRED OVERSTREET-AMOS