48 | MAY 13 • 2021
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
continued from page 46
E
li Broad, former
Detroit businessman
and philanthropist
whose generosity was as vast
as his fortune, died April 30,
2021, in Los Angeles, where
he resided for the past six
decades with his wife of 67
years, Edythe. He was 87.
Eli Broad was born in
the Bronx in 1933, the
son of Jewish immigrants
from Lithuania. When
he was 6 years old, his
family moved to Detroit,
where he attended Central
High School. He earned
a bachelor’s degree in
accounting from the
Michigan State University
business school that now
bears his name. Graduating
cum laude after only three
years, he became Michigan’s
youngest certified public
accountant at the age of 20.
In 1954, he married
Detroit native Edythe “Edye”
Lawson, who inspired his
passion for the arts and
shared his commitment
to supporting education,
medical research and other
charitable pursuits during
their long and loving
marriage. In his early 20s,
he started the Kaufman &
Broad Building Company
with local developer Donald
Kaufman. The company
quickly became successful
selling no-frills homes,
starting in the Detroit
suburbs and expanding to
Phoenix and Los Angeles,
where the Broads moved
in 1964. His next business
move was acquiring
Baltimore-based insurance
company Sun Life, which he
later renamed SunAmerica
and sold to American
International Group (AIG)
for $18 billion.
The Broads’ fortune
enabled them to expand
their ongoing philanthropic
endeavors through The
Eli and Edythe Broad
Foundation, which provides
grants that support
education, scientific and
medical research and the
arts. To date, the foundation
has donated more than $4
billion to a variety of causes
and organizations.
In Los Angeles, Mr.
Broad was instrumental in
enhancing the downtown
area and transforming
the city’s art world. After
he and Edythe amassed a
renowned contemporary art
collection, they established
the Broad Art Foundation,
a global “lending library”
designed to increase
public access to private art
collections. In addition,
they provided funding for
many Los Angeles cultural
institutions, culminating
with the opening of the
contemporary art museum
The Broad in 2015.
Ever the loyal Spartan,
Eli Broad donated more
than $100 million to his
alma mater, Michigan State
University. Numerous
buildings and programs
on the East Lansing
campus bear his name,
including the Eli Broad
College of Business, the
Eli Broad Graduate School
of Management and the
46,000-square-foot Eli and
Edythe Broad Art Museum
and the MSU Broad Art Lab.
Mr. Broad is also the
author of the 2012 New York
Times bestseller The Art of
Being Unreasonable: Lessons
in Unconventional Thinking.”
In a statement on the
MSU website, College
of Business Dean Sanjay
Gupta described Eli
Broad as “unreasonable
and unforgettable,” a
generous benefactor who
left an “extraordinary and
unparalleled legacy” to the
university.
Eli Broad is survived by
his wife, Edythe, and their
two sons, Jeffrey and Gary.
Builder, Art Aficionado
and MSU Benefactor
RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
JEREMIAH GARCIA VIA WIKIMEDIA
Eli Broad in 2008
in-law of the late Marvin Katz
and the late Trevor Brown.
Interment was at
Hebrew Memorial Park.
Contributions may be made
to Jewish Community Center,
Darryl Lawrence Krekun
Memorial Fitness Fund,
6600 W. Maple Road, West
Bloomfield, Michigan 48322.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
REVA DORIS NYMAN
KURTIS, 89, former Detroit of
Dallas, Texas, passed away on
May 3, 2021.
She was born on July 3,
1931, in Detroit. For the first
part of her life, she lived in
Michigan then moved to
Dallas to help her husband
reach his dream job of opening
a golf store.
Reva was a very loving,
independent women who
never backed away from any
challenge.
She loved to be around fam-
ily and friends, always wanting
to know what was going on in
their lives and if there was any
way she could help, offering
encouragement and support
almost to the point of being
overbearing.
Reva loved to compete in
sports: bowling where she won
many trophies, golf (she had a
hole in one) and many others.
She loved to cook, especially
during the holidays when fam-
ily members would come to
enjoy the great food she made.
She was also a skilled seam-
stress, making clothes for her-
self, and Halloween costumes
for the kids. In addition, she
enjoyed knitting, doing nee-
dlepoint and gardening.
She will be missed by all
the people whose lives she
touched.
Mrs. Kurtis is survived
by her husband of 69 years,
Gerald Kurtis; daughter, Julie;