CLOCKWISE: Lawn signs celebrate the happy couple; Carol and Martin wave to their parade; the Lowenbergs’
 1960 wedding photo; one of the parade “floats.”

 MAY 21 • 2020 | 17

W

ith smiles and waves, honking 
horns and shouts of “Mazel Tov,” 
dozens of family members and 
friends, congregants from Young Israel of 
Southfield and even total strangers helped 
Holocaust survivor Martin Lowenberg, 92, 
and his wife, Carol, 87, celebrate their 60th 
wedding anniversary in the midst of the 
coronavirus pandemic. 
The 32-car parade May 12 in front of 
the couple’
s Southfield home was all a big 
surprise coordinated by Young Israel Rabbi 
Yechiel Morris and the Lowenbergs’
 oldest 
daughter, Cheryl Jerusalem. Family mem-
bers also decorated the lawn with “Happy 
Anniversary” signs and pictures of the cou-
ple’
s three children, 14 grandchildren and 14 
great-grandchildren. (Two more babies are 
due in June.) 
“Thank you, thank you,” Mr. Lowenberg 
said as he stood in his driveway waving at 
the cars and grinning from ear to ear. Carol 
sat on a lawn chair beside him.
“Look how popular you are,” shouted one 
of the drivers passing by.
A municipal tree trimming truck and 
another city vehicle were even spotted 
among the procession. Car parades are a 
new tradition helping people to celebrate 
special occasions while maintaining a safe 
distance to avoid spreading the virus.
“It was just amazing, seeing them so 
happy and seeing how much their com-

munity means to them,” Jerusalem said. “It 
touched all of our hearts.”
Mr. Lowenberg was born in Germany 
and spent his teenage years in five different 
concentration camps. His parents and twin 
brothers were killed during the Holocaust; 
only he and his sister survived. He often 
talks to groups about his life experiences 
and the healing power of love.
“Quarantine is not [a] strange word to 
me,” he said. “
After I was liberated from the 
concentration camp to Sweden, I was in 
quarantine for more than a month.” 
Martin met Carol, the love of his life, 
through mutual friends six decades ago. 
They moved to Detroit in 1965 and raised 
their three daughters Cheryl, Anita and 
Sandra, all of whom are married with 
families of their own. Before COVID-19, 
Mr. Lowenberg attended Young Israel of 
Southfield three times a day.
“They’
ve been very careful during the 
pandemic,” Cheryl explained. “We have 
frequent FaceTime calls, but they miss 
being with their community and with fam-
ily.”
That’
s one more reason the anniversary 
surprise was so special. May 12 was also 
Lag b’
Omer, celebrated on the 33 day of the 
Counting of the Omer between Passover 
and Shavuot. For decades, the occasion has 
been marked with — you guessed it — fes-
tive parades.

“[The car parade] was really something,” 
Mr. Lowenberg said. “It was quite a surprise 
to my wife and myself. I was completely 
overcome. It was a wonderful happening.”
Elana Miodownik was among those rid-
ing by to help the Lowenbergs celebrate.
“The ability to come together as a com-
munity to honor and celebrate these special 
people brought everyone so much joy,” she 
said. “Despite these difficult times, when 
we are in many ways disconnected, we 
were able to sit back, smile and share in the 
sweetness of living life to the fullest.” 

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Anniversary Surprise

Community helps Holocaust survivor and his 
wife mark a milestone in quarantine

COURTESY OF LOWENBERG FAMILY

