 JULY 16 • 2020 | 47

SEYMOUR D. “SY” 
BERMAN, a retired 
dentist, civic activist 
and occasional kib-
butznik, died on 
June 25, 2020, in 
Novi. He was 95. 
Born on Dec. 15, 1924, in 
Detroit to Rose (Sklar) and 
Mark Berman, Sy graduated 
from Detroit Central High and 
then attended Wayne State 
University. He was drafted into 
the U.S. Armed Forces two years 
later, but after a quick report to 
Fort Custer in Battle Creek, he 
was assigned to duty as a den-
tal student at the University of 
Michigan in Ann Arbor.
After graduating in 1946, he 
met Rose Mendelson on a blind 
date. They married, had three 
children, three grandchildren 
and celebrated their 70th wed-
ding anniversary in April. 
For more than 50 years, Dr. 
Berman practiced dentistry, 
mostly in his Oak Park clinic 
only two blocks from the family 
home. He often walked to work 
and took pride in maintaining 
his skills and learning new tech-
niques. 
Active in Oak Park civic 
affairs, he led a successful but 
controversial campaign to keep 
“liquor by the glass” out of the 
city. The anti-liquor referendum 
passed in the 1960s and held fast 
until 2013. 
Gregarious and intensely curi-
ous about people and the world 
around him, Sy had an adven-
turous spirit and an enthusiastic 
presence. He used his retirement 
as an opportunity to expand his 
horizons, volunteering to solve 
consumer problems on WXYZ’
s 
“Call to Action,
” touring visi-
tors at the Cranbrook Science 
Museum and joining an Italian 
language and culture club. He 
traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal 
and Machu Picchu, Peru, deter-
mined to visit the world’
s far 
corners. 
“He was an excellent dentist, 
but he would also have been an 
outstanding journalist. He had 
all the skills: restless curiosity, 
independent mind, relentless 
interrogator,
” said his son-in-
law Brian Dickerson, who is the 

Detroit Free Press editorial page 
editor. 
Sy combined dentistry with 
his interest in Judaism and Israel 
in his 60s, volunteering to work 
on Kibbutz Afikim in Israel for a 
four-week stint and then return-
ing the next year. 
 As a young man, he was an 
inventive practical joker and 
never lost his quick wit and 
ability to find humor in any 
situation. Sy stayed active and 
engaged in the world, always 
willing to talk about politics, 
classical music or the latest mov-
ies. 
Dr. Berman is survived by 
his wife of 70 years, Rose; his 
children, Laura Berman (Brian 
Dickerson), Paul Berman (Linda 
Shayne) and Joyce Berman (Dan 
Carol); his grandchildren, Robin 
Carol, Jack Carol, Lina Berman 
and Zachary Dickerson; his 
brother-in-law, Marvin Green. 
(the late Elaine Green); lov-
ing nieces and nephew, Karen 
Mendelson, Linda Mendelson, 
Michael (Beryl) Mendelson; 
great-niece, Anna Mendelson; 
many cousins and friends. 
Interment at Machpelah 
Cemetery. Contributions 
may be made to American 
Technion Society, Morris and 
Esther Mendelson Fund, 6735 
Telegraph Road, Suite 304, 
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, ats.
org; or ORT America Michigan 
Region, 6735 Telegraph Road, 
Suite 375, Bloomfield Hills, 
MI 48301, ortamerica.org. 
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman 
Chapel.

MARVIN COPLEY, 94, of 
Bloomfield Hills, died July 6, 
2020.
He is survived by his nieces 
and nephews, Judy and Paul 
Glassman, Cheryl Austel, Sandie 
Curnow, and Lorraine and 
Dennis Raczkowski; great-niec-
es and great-nephew, Amanda 
Austel, Julie and Tom Schilling, 
and Danielle Moynihan; 
great-great-nieces and great-
great-nephews, Logan, Jayden, 
Christina, Rachel, Jacob and 
Stephan. 
Mr. Copley was the beloved 
husband of the late Nechama 

continued on page 48

beauty of all of this.
”
After graduating from the 
University of Michigan Law 
School, John worked for sev-
eral firms, including serving 
as the managing partner of 
Mason, Steinhardt, Jacobs, 
Perlman & Pesick and prac-
ticing for the past 15 years at 
Maddin, Hauser, Roth & Heller 
in Southfield.
“John was a very respected, 
excellent lawyer — and very 
humble,
” said Rob Kaplow, 
a friend and fellow lawyer at 
Maddin Hauser.
“He was a lawyer’
s law-
yer,
” said attorney and friend 
Barbara Rom of Beverly Hills. 
“Other lawyers would turn to 
him for advice.
“He wouldn’
t brag about 
himself, but he would brag 
about his daughters, Rachel 
and Jessica, and Gilda,
” Rom 
said.
 
FAMILY VALUES
A major tragedy in John’
s life 
was the death of his daugh-
ter Rachel at age 39 in an 
Amtrak train derailment in 
Philadelphia in 2015.
Rachel, who lived in New 
York with husband, Todd 
Waldman, and son Jacob, was 
an education executive and 
also co-founder of the group 
Detroit Nation, an organization 
to enable native Detroiters 
living elsewhere to contribute 
to their hometown’
s economic 
and cultural development. 
Rachel had a strong sense of 
community ties, Jewish values 
and social justice.
When John was ailing 
during the past year, daughter 
Jessica moved back to Metro 
Detroit from New York City 
with her husband, Joshua 
Steinhart, and children Lyle 
and Ruby. Jessica, a population 
health administrator, wanted to 
assist her parents in their time 
of need.
John and Gilda brought 
Jewish values into their home. 

Every year at Chanukah, the 
family would pick a charity to 
contribute to instead of buying 
gifts. The family were members 
of Temple Emanu-El in Oak 
Park, where John once served 
as president.
“My dad gave to the Jewish 
community and, through his 
example, he instilled in us a 
commitment to service,
” Jessica 
said. “People probably assume 
that my mom was the one who 
set that example, but it was 
actually both of them. My dad 
believed strongly in taking care 
of his community.
”
Longtime friend Ken Bertin 
of West Bloomfield said, “John 
was not only my hero, but he 
was a hero to thousands of 
people.
”
Added Gilda, “John was a 
giant in our Jewish community. 
Giving back to the community 
helped drive him every day. 
He left a great legacy, and I am 
very proud I was by his side all 
these years.
”
John Jacobs is survived by 
his beloved wife of 49 years, 
Gilda Z. Jacobs; cherished 
daughter, Jessica (Joshua) 
Steinhart; dear son-in-law 
Todd Waldman. He was the 
loving grandfather of Jacob 
Waldman, Lyle and Ruby 
Steinhart; dear brother of 
Elizabeth Jacobs and Charles 
Jacobs; brother-in-law of Karen 
and Robert Wildau; he was also 
survived by loving nieces, a 
nephew and a world of friends.
He was the loving father 
of the late Rachel H. Jacobs; 
devoted son of the late Morton 
and the late Gilberta Jacobs; 
dear son-in-law of the late 
Hyman and the late Lillian 
Zalenko.
Interment was at Machpelah 
Cemetery. Contributions may 
be made to the Rachel Jacobs 
Fund at JVS, Jewish Hospice 
and Chaplaincy Network 
or a charity of one’
s choice. 
Arrangements were by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

