MARCH 26 • 2020 | 47

Soul
of blessed memory

A Community Stalwart with a Kind
and Generous Heart

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
R

ita Haddow was an inspi-
rational leader, devoted 
wife and mother and 
generous supporter of many 
causes. A stalwart of the Detroit 
Jewish community, Rita passed 
away on March 13, 2020, leaving 
a long legacy of philanthropy 
and service. She was 93. 

Rita was born in Detroit, the 
second child of Irwin I. and 
Sadie Cohn, community leaders 
in their own right. Growing 
up, she went to Winterhalter 
Elementary School, Durfee 
Junior High and Central High 
School, graduating in 1944. 
She attended the University of 
Wisconsin and Wayne State 
University, where she studied 
drama and began a lifetime 
love of theater and the arts. 
She acted in college and during 
her adult life, appearing on the 
Michigan-based television show 
Divorce Court and in community 
theater productions at the Jewish 
Community Center. 
Her flair for acting made her 
a talented storyteller and public 
speaker who captivated audienc-
es of all sizes with her entertain-
ing tales and signature sense of 
humor. She had a gift of making 
whomever she was with at the 
time, whether family, friends or 
new acquaintances, feel like the 
most important person in the 
room. Her sense of humor, kind-
ness, compassion, laughter and 
love enriched the lives of every-
one who knew her. 
In 1948, Rita married Jay M. 
Kogan, and together they had 
four children, manifesting their 
desire to help rebuild the Jewish 
population after the devastating 
losses of WWII. 
They enjoyed dancing, 

travel and fam-
ily celebrations 
and, when their 
marriage ended 
in divorce, they 
maintained a close 
friendship. 
On a trip to 
Spain with three 
of her children, 
Rita met John 
Haddow, an insurance industry 
executive living in New York 
City. Over the next year, she 
made many trips to Manhattan 
under the guise of shopping for 
a dining table. While she never 
found that table, she did find 
love, and Rita and John were 
married in 1971. She embraced 
John’
s children, Jeff and Jack, 
and was happy to see her family 
grow once more. Together, they 
created a rich and fulfilling life, 
filled with service to the Jewish 
community, travel, and a love of 
creatures large and small. After 
spotting a white rhinoceros on a 
trip to Africa, Rita became pas-
sionate about collecting rhinos. 
From small table pieces to sculp-
tures and larger works of art, her 
collection grew to include close 
to 1,000 rhinos in every imagin-
able size and material. 
Rita always remained proud 
of her Detroit roots and was a 
fervent believer in giving back 
to her community. She was a 
member of Hadassah, National 
Council of Jewish Women, a 
board member of the Jewish 
Community Center (with a 
particular interest in the JET 
Theatre), a board member of 
JARC, a docent at the Detroit 
Zoological Society, and an active 
participant and contributor to 
the Jewish Federation of Metro 

Detroit. She contrib-
uted significantly to 
the Juvenile Diabetes 
Research Foundation 
and said she would 
give anything to help 
find a cure for the 
disease that afflicted 
her grandson Josh 
and other children.
In 2019, she 
was honored as a recipient of 
Jewish Senior Life’
s Eight over 
Eighty Tikkun Olam Award. In 
a video created for the award 
(youtu.be/68BjqYMoFmQ), she 
expressed her enthusiasm for 
serving the community that had 
given her so many opportunities. 
The only thing that surpassed 
her dedication to her community 
was her devotion to her family. 
Her sons and daughters 
remember their mother as “a 
constant champion and cheer-
leader who loved her children, 
grandchildren and great-grand-
children passionately and uncon-
ditionally.
”
Rita filled the household with 
stories, jokes and songs her 
children have since passed on to 
their own children and grand-
children. She sewed Halloween 
and Purim costumes by hand 
and created memorable charac-
ters like Susabelle Pridgett, head 
of the Clean Plate Club. She 
enjoyed taking her children and 
grandchildren on adventures 
around town and across the 
world. 
She emphasized the value of 
tzedakah, how giving back to 
others opened up a universe of 
possibilities. She loved nothing 
more than giving something 
away to someone she cared 
about.

According to her children, 
“Mom taught us how to laugh, 
how to cry, how the forgiveness 
of others opens your heart. She 
taught us to treat everyone with 
dignity and respect, regardless of 
the color of their skin, country of 
origin, gender, love preference or 
profession.
”

Rita Haddow is survived by 
her children, Lauren (Marvin) 
Daitch, Amy (Steve) Coyer, 
Dr. Seth (Vicki) Kogan, Mark 
(Betsy) Kogan, Jeffrey (Miyako 
Yoshinaga) Haddow and John 
“Jack” (Nina) Haddow; loving 
stepchildren, Joshua and Erica 
Daitch; brother, Judge Avern 
Cohn; grandchildren, Rebecca 
(Ari Grief) Liss, Joshua (Dr. 
Claudine) Liss, Emily Kogan, 
Michael Kogan, Alexander 
Kogan, Benjamin Kogan, Eli 
Kogan, Barrett Haddow and 
Jordyn Haddow; great-grand-
children, Liza Liss and Lev Liss, 
Spencer and Ayla Daitch, Karen 
Daitch. In her later years, Rita 
was supported by her devot-
ed and loving caregiver Coral 
Washington and her precious 
pooch Violet.
Contributions in memo-
ry of Rita Haddow may be 
directed to Juvenile Diabetes 
Research Foundation, 24359 
Northwestern Highway, Suite 
125, Southfield, MI 48075, 
(248) 355-1133, jdrf.org; Detroit 
Zoological Society, 8450 W
. 
10 Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI 
48067, (248) 541-5717, detroit-
zoo.org; JARC, 6735 Telegraph 
Road, Suite 100, Bloomfield 
Hills, MI 48301, (248) 940-2617, 
jarc.org; or a charity of one’
s 
choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman 
Chapel. 

Rita Haddow 

000_DJN032620_OB Obits.indd 47
000_DJN032620_OB Obits.indd 47
3/23/20 12:31 PM
3/23/20 12:31 PM