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;