38 | JULY 23 • 2020

Soul
of blessed memory

continued on page 42

GILDA
BIRMINGHAM,
92, of Royal Oak,
died July 11,
2020.
She was a
woman of culture
who loved collecting glass
art, volunteering for many
years at the Detroit Institute
of Arts and attending art
exhibits.
She was well read,
extremely intellectual and
had a great sense of humor.
Gilda brought life and inter-
est to any conversation. She
was always fully engaged
with her family and friends
during treasured visits. She
listened, which is a rare qual-
ity.
Her earlier years were
spent in the medical field
and the “kids” will never for-
get those dreaded vaccines
she brought home to admin-
ister.
She married the true
love of her life, Dr. John
Birmingham, who passed
some years ago; but we know
she shared a love at the
deepest level with John. That
love and companionship
were what we all aspire to
have. She is with him now in
eternity and peace. May her
memory be a blessing to all
who knew and loved her.
Mrs. Birmingham is
survived by her two chil-
dren, Roger Ludin (Judi)
and Jody Jonas; sister and
brother-in-law, Hecky and
Ronnie Lazar; grandchildren,
Jonathon Jonas, Jamie Ludin
Vazquez, Jared Ludin; many
nieces and nephews.
She was the sister of the
late Fern Solomon.
Contributions may be
made to the Detroit Institute
of Arts or to a charity of
one’
s choice related to the
arts. Arrangements by
Dorfman Chapel.

DR. DAVID
BURNSTINE, 91,
of Northridge,
Calif., died July 8,
2020.
He is survived
by his sons and daughter-
in-law, Steven Burnstine,
Robert Burnstine, Michael
and Diana Burnstine; grand-
children, Alexa, Ryan, Jack,
Adam and Zachary; sister,
Jeanie Kabeck; brother-in-
law and sister-in-law, Jerome
and Janet Rosman; many
other loving family members
and friends.
Dr. Burnstine was the
beloved husband of the late
Elaine Burnstine; the brother
of the late Barbara (the late
Harold) Nelson; the broth-
er-in-law of the late Jerry
Kabeck.
Interment took place at
Clover Hill Park Cemetery in
Birmingham. Contributions
may be made to the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, to the Wayne
State University School of
Medicine or to a charity of
one’
s choice. Arrangements
by Dorfman Chapel.

NOAH SAMUEL
CUTLER, 23, of
West Bloomfield,
died July 15,
2020.
He is survived
by beloved parents, Michael
and Dr. Nancy Cutler;
brother, Adam Cutler; lov-
ing grandparents, Michael
and Margo Goldman, and
Janice Cutler; adoring aunts
and uncles, Ilisa (David)
Bernstein, Jeff (Staci)
Goldman, Kevin (Amy)
Goldman and Alan (Cindy)
Cutler; many loving cousins,
other family members and a
world of devoted friends.
Mr. Cutler was the grand-
son of the late Donald
Cutler.
Interment took place at
Clover Hill Park Cemetery in

Birmingham. Contributions
may be made to the Make-
A-Wish Foundation of
Michigan or Kadima.
Arrangements by Dorfman
Chapel.

BEATRICE
HOWARD, 95, of
West Bloomfield,
died July 9, 2020.
She is survived
by her children,
Daniel and
Victoria Steinway, Steven and
Deborah Steinway, Robert
Howard, David and Rowena
Howard, Richard and Sherry
Howard, Donna and Stanley
Weingarden; grandchildren,
Alyssa Steinway, Matthew
Steinway, Stacie Steinway,
Caren Steinway, Adam
Howard, Derek (Stephanie)
Howard, Jessica (John)
Olenski, Brett Howard,
Beth (Jon) Fodal, Howard
(Teri) Weingarden, Adam
(Meredith) Weingarden;
brothers and sisters-in-law,
David and Barbara Feld,
Julius and Elenor Feld; sister
and brother-in-law, Annetta
and Samuel Lipton; numer-
ous great-grandchildren,
nieces, nephews, many other
loving family members and
friends.
Mrs. Howard was the
beloved wife of the late
Marvin Howard.
Contributions may be
made to JARC or to a
charity of one’
s choice.
Arrangements by Dorfman
Chapel.

POLLY KAATZ
(nee Gleiser), of
Oak Park, for-
merly of
Huntington
Woods and
Sarasota, Fla., died on June
21, 2020.
She was born Pauline
Gleiser in 1925 to Tziporah
(Goldenfeld) and Ioseph in
Iasi, Romania. In 1929, she

sailed with her mother to
Lima, Peru, to join her father
who had emigrated there.
When they arrived in Peru,
Pauline became Polita/Poli,
short for Paola, Tziporah
became Cecilia, and Ioseph
became José. Polly attended
an American high school in
Lima, where she became flu-
ent in English.
During the war, she met
Paul Kaatz, who was sta-
tioned in the Air Force
at a base on the northern
coast of Peru not far from
where Polly and her parents
had relocated during the
Depression.
Paul had been encouraged
to visit her family by a local
shopkeeper on the promise
of meeting a Jewish daughter
and getting a good Jewish
meal. He never got the meal
but he did meet Polly; and
after a courtship by mail and
a final visit to Lima, they
were married on June 1,
1947. Polly, an only child, at
the age of 22, bravely left her
family and friends to start a
new life in Detroit.
The Kaatzes soon moved
to Huntington Woods, where
they lived for 36 years,
before moving to Sarasota,
Fla., in the early 1990s. Polly
continued living in Sarasota
another 11 years after Paul’
s
death in early 2007; she then
moved to Oak Park in 2018
to be closer to her family.
Polly was loved by every-
one who knew her and had
a wide circle of friends in
both Detroit and Sarasota,
including many of her chil-
dren’
s friends who went on
to develop independent rela-
tionships with her as adults.
Her two daughters-in-law
eulogized her as “the best
mother-in-law anyone could
have.” Polly was known for
being a great cook, and a
whiz at math; she was a
master bridge player who
played contract bridge, stud-