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-