102 | MAY 20 • 2021 

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

U

nassuming and gen-
erous, Philip Manuel 
Allweiss made peo-
ple feel cared for, whether it 
was hosting guests, fixing a 
car or giving handyman tips. 
He was happy to share the 
good life he enjoyed with his 
wife, Kat, at their homes in 
Highland, Mich., and Bonita 
Springs, Fla. However, as 
owners of Sol’s Complete Car 
Care in Berkley, work as well 
as play defined their lives. 
Phil Allweiss, 60, died of 
cancer in Bonita Springs on 
May 3, 2021. The youngest 
of Salek “Sol” and Frieda 
(Schiller) Allweiss’ four chil-
dren, Phil was born on Feb. 
20, 1961. He was mechan-
ically inclined like his dad. 
“Phil was ‘Sol Jr.’ in our fam-
ily,” Frieda said, “because he 
looked like him, walked like 
him and shared his interests.” 
Brother Ben Allweiss 
recalled launching kit model 
rockets with young Phil in 
a field near home. After 
graduating from North 
Farmington High School, 
Phil completed technical 
school and became a master 
mechanic.
At age 13, Phil began 
working at Sol & Zygie’s 
Mobil gas station in 
Southfield. Two years later, 
in 1976, the owner brothers 
parted ways and opened 
separate auto repair shops. 
When Sol retired in 1987, 
Phil took over his father’s 
business, later joined by Kat, 
at the corner of 11 Mile and 
Greenfield roads.
The manager at Sol’s, 

Henry Bienenstock, 
was 14 and pump-
ing gas when he 
met 10-year-old 
Phil, his eventual 
boss. “For the next 
34 years, Phil and I 
shared every single 
event in each oth-
er’s lives. His fam-
ily was my family, 
and my family was 
his. He was, first and fore-
most, my friend.”
Kat and Phil were intro-
duced by her sister, Lauren, 
and Phil’s buddy, Scott. “It 
was love at first sight,” said 
Kat, who married her hus-
band on Aug. 28, 1993. The 
heartbreak of their marriage 
happened Sept. 15, 1997, 
losing their infant daughter, 
Sara Sophia.
The couple volunteered 
together at a boxer rescue 
nonprofit. “Phil loved sav-
ing dogs, even when he was 
going through chemo,” Kat 
said. On weekends, they 
might waterski or ride one of 
their horses, but “traveling 
to explore islands and lying 
on beaches was our favorite 
pastime.”
Guests enjoyed relaxing 
on Phil’s boat rides across 
Highland Lake, perhaps 
to watch the sunset, and 
cruising on his boat in the 
Florida Gulf. Just for fun, his 
brother Jack Allweiss recalled 
a friendly cookoff between 
Phil and Jack’s chef son, Jon, 
“where the good-natured 
taunts flew across the kitch-
en.” 
“Cousin Phil balanced a 

life filled with love 
and activities he cared 
about with a success-
ful business,” said 
Janice Young.
Phil was the 
beloved husband 
of Kathryn “Kat” 
Allweiss; son and 
son-in-law of Frieda 
Allweiss and Carol 
Kozelski; brother and 
brother-in-law of Jack (Patty) 
Allweiss, Ben Allweiss 
and Ilana Moss; uncle of 
Jonathan Allweiss and Erin 
(Paul) Lietzan; nephew of 
Goldy Kriseman; and he 
leaves seven cousins.
He was the father of the 
late Sara Sophia Allweiss; son 
and son-in-law of the late Sol 
Allweiss and the late Edward 
Kozelski; uncle of the late 
David Allweiss; nephew of 
the late Zyga and the late 
Irma Allweiss; and grandson 
of the late Markus and the 
late Sara Schiller, and the 
late Jacob and the late Esther 
Allweiss. 
A memorial service 
will be held in Michigan. 
Contributions may be made 
to Great Lakes Boxer Rescue, 
5196 N. Vista Road, Sanford, 
MI 48657, greatlakesbox-
errescue.org; American 
Cancer Society, 20450 Civic 
Center Drive, Southfield, MI 
48076, donate3.cancer.org; or 
Holocaust Memorial Center, 
28123 Orchard Lake Road, 
Farmington Hills, MI 48334, 
www.holocaustcenter.org. 
Arrangements by Shikany 
Funeral Home of Bonita 
Springs, Fla. 

A Life Well Lived

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Philip Allweiss

vrcpitbull.com/how-you-can-
help/donations. Arrangements 
by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

JOEL M. 
HELFMAN, 78, of 
Bloomfield Hills, 
died May 9, 2021.
He is survived 
by his beloved 
wife, Harriet Helfman; son, 
Adam Helfman; daughter, 
Melissa Rosenzweig; 
grandchildren, Maximillian 
Helfman, Jackson Rosenzweig 
and Eli Rosenzweig; brother, 
David Helfman; sister and 
brother-in-law, Brina and 
Raymond Pepper; brothers-
in-law and sisters-in-law, 
Dr. Mildord and Barbara 
Wenokur, Sheldon and Sheila 
Swartz; many loving cousins, 
nieces, nephews, other family 
members and friends. 
Mr. Helfman was the son 
of the late Anne and the late 
Philip Helfman; brother-
in-law of the late Marilee 
Helfman and the late Arthur 
Woll. 
Interment took place at 
Adat Shalom Memorial 
Park Cemetery in Livonia. 
Contributions may be made 
to a charity of one’s choice. 
Arrangements by Dorfman 
Chapel.

ESTHER GREEN 
KIRSCHNER, 92, 
of Huntington 
Woods, died on 
May 10, 2021.
She was born 
in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1928 to 
Rose and Harry Green. She 
married Stanley Kirschner in 
June of 1950, on the same day 
that they both graduated from 
Brooklyn College, where she 
earned her B.A. 
Esther went on to earn a 

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