R
ule of comedy: Never
follow Estelle Seltzer on
stage after she’
s done
shtick. I tried at a Purim Shpiel
at the Jewish Community
Center of Greater Ann Arbor
a few years ago and learned
what it must
have been like
to follow Jackie
Mason.
Estelle always
delivered her
jokes with
impeccable tim-
ing in an exag-
gerated Jewish
accent. It was the same way
she entertained fellow resi-
dents and staff as the in-house
comedienne, poet and life of
the party at her Fleischman
residence in West Bloomfield
where she lived until her pass-
ing on April 20 at age 88.
Estelle will be affectionately
remembered along with some
“other famous” comediennes
when the FRIENDS of Jewish
Senior Life (JSL) host its
annual event, Lives Well Lived.
celebrating the lives of older
adults.
The inspiring evening will
feature the Emmy-nominated
documentary If You’
re Not
in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.
Proceeds will support cultural,
educational, social and spiritu-
al programming to JSL’
s 800-
plus residents.
In the HBO-produced film,
Carl Reiner tracks down sev-
eral celebrated nonagenarians,
and a few others over 100, to
show how the twilight years
can truly be the happiest and
most rewarding.
If Reiner had known Estelle
Seltzer, there’
s no doubt he
would’
ve included her in his
film, along with participants
Mel Brooks, Norman Lear,
Betty White and Dick Van
Dyke, to name a few.
As our Jewish community
well knows, Jewish Senior Life
is far more than a place to live;
it’
s a place to thrive. Its mission
echoes the inspiring message
that is captured in the docu-
mentary.
Within six residences in two
safe and supportive commu-
nities in West Bloomfield and
Oak Park, residents actively
engage with one another
through creative programming
and services. As a result, they
remain active in mind, body
and spirit. It’
s the energy that
Estelle cherished and gave back
in return during her nearly
four years at Fleischman.
“Estelle was a comedienne, a
poet and a friend to everyone,”
said FRIENDS of JSL director
Leslie Katz. “She personified
joy in the characters she would
create and in her everyday life,
so fully well lived.”
Estelle displayed the same
humor and vigor at her “day
job” as a customer liaison for
15 years, working for her son,
retired advertising executive
Michael Seltzer of Franklin.
Despite the huge void left by
the passing of his mother,
Michael still volunteers at
Marvin’
s Bistro at the residence
in West Bloomfield.
In eulogizing his moth-
er, Michael shared that his
mother “loved, loved living at
Fleischman. You could always
find her holding court at a
round table in the front lobby.”
In her final hours, he
recalled how Estelle rallied
from hospice care for one
more memorable interaction
with family who had gathered
by her bedside. Up into her
final moments, Estelle vol-
unteered to write a poem for
an upcoming wedding and to
teach her grandchildren how
to play Rummikub.
Fitting that in her poem
“Blessings,” Estelle wrote:
Now is the only time there is,
it’
s important to make the
most of every minute,
Living our lives in the now,
while continuing our journey
Blessing everything in it.
Estelle would most certainly
include JSL among her greatest
blessings.
Tickets for Lives Well Lived
at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov.
13, at the Maple Theater, 4135
W
. Maple Road, Bloomfield
Hills, are $50 per person.
Sponsorships are available,
which include an afterglow.
For more information and to
purchase tickets, contact Katz
at (248) 592-5062 or lkatz@
jslmi.org.
26 | NOVEMBER 7 • 2019
Alan
Muskovitz
Contributing
Writer
Lives
Well Lived
FRIENDS of JSL to celebrate
Estelle Seltzer and lives of older adults.
Jews in the D
Estelle Seltzer
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks appear in If
You’
re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF JSL