56 | AUGUST 5 • 2021 

G

od has been good to 
me,” Graham Orley 
sometimes said to 
his rabbi, with a characteris-
tic twinkle in his eye. And it 
indeed was so during his long 
and fortunate life. But Mr. 
Orley wasn’t one to bypass 
opportunities or shirk respon-
sibilities.
People loved and respected 
him for many reasons, includ-
ing his being a devoted hus-
band and father and, ultimately, 
the wise family patriarch. He 
was successful and ethical in 
business. He also served as a 
caring and visionary Jewish 
communal leader who made a 
difference.
Graham A. Orley, 96, of 
Bloomfield Hills died on July 
21, 2021. His July 25 funer-
al service took place in the 
Davidson/Hermelin Chapel at 
Clover Hill Park Cemetery in 
Birmingham. Officiating were 
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, senior 
director of Jewish Hospice 
& Chaplaincy Network, 
and Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek Rabbi Aaron Starr and 
Assistant Cantor Leonard 
Gutman. The Orley family 
affiliated with the synagogue 
in 1933, when Graham’s father 
initially exchanged his talent of 
singing opera for paying mem-
bership dues.
Mr. Orley was a first-gener-
ation American. His parents, 
Celia (Goldberg) Orley from 
Lithuania and George Orley 
of Odessa, Ukraine (formerly 
Russia), came to the United 
States between 1910-12. They 
moved shortly afterward to 
Detroit, where their middle 
child, Graham, was born on 
Oct. 9, 1924. Drafted for World 
War II after completing Central 
High School, he missed his 
chance to attend the University 
of Pennsylvania. He became a 
Navy Seaman First Class aboard 
the gunboat USS Paducah.

The story of Mr. Orley must 
include his older brother, the 
late Joseph Orley. “They were 
50-50 partners in business from 
the time they were boys, shov-
eling coal and selling Hibachi 
grills door to door,” said 
Graham’s son, Randy Orley. 
The brothers, who ate lunch 
together every day, founded 
many real estate and manufac-
turing companies. Randy said 
their three most successful ven-
tures were “Elro Corporation, 
Rudgate Mobile Home 
Communities and RheTech.” 
“Graham took pride in 
being an Orley,” Rabbi Starr 
said, and giving back to the 
community was a given. The 
Orley brothers became leaders 
with the Jewish Federation 
of Metropolitan Detroit and 
Federation’s Annual Campaign. 
Graham Orley was a mem-
ber of Federation’s Board 
of Governors, president of 
what is now known as the 
United Jewish Foundation 
of Metropolitan Detroit and 
chaired Federation’s real estate 
committee. 
In his eulogy, former 
Federation CEO Robert 
Aronson said his close friend 
Mr. Orley convinced his board 
colleagues to purchase the 
former Congregation B’nai 
Moshe building in Oak Park 
and allow Yeshiva Beth Yehudah 
to open a girls’ school. It was 
the impetus for developing an 
entire local campus for Orthodox 
Jewish education. Mr. Orley also 
guided Federation’s move from 
Downtown Detroit to its current 
building in Bloomfield Township.

NEW JFS BUILDING
Perhaps the Orleys’ greatest 
gift to their community hap-
pened in 2001. The brothers 
and their spouses donated 
monies to build what became 
the Graham A. and Sally A. 

Orley and Joseph H. and 
Suzanne E. Orley Jewish 
Family Service Building in 
West Bloomfield. 
Mr. Orley also was active 
with Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra and the Beaumont 
and Henry Ford healthcare sys-
tems. Internationally, he sup-
ported ORT, Israel Bonds, Bar-
Ilan University and Technion-
Israel Institute of Technology. 
He played tennis and attended 
team sporting events as pas-
times.
Sally Ann Hechtman met 
Graham, a “sophisticated older 
man,” at a friend’s going-away 
party. He showed up with a 
pinky ring to “claim” her before 
she dated another man, soon 
winning her heart. They were 
married on April 17, 1950.
The Orleys blossomed into 
a large family. Recalling his 
“tough, but sweet grandfather,” 
Ethan Orley said, “We rarely 
saw him out of a suit and tie.” 
Gramps taught his children and 
grandchildren to have a strong 
work ethic and the other hall-
marks of being an upright per-
son. Whatever family members 
wanted to do in life was OK, 
he’d say, as long as they strived 
to be the best.
At the end, it was all about 
Graham and Sally’s love story. 
“He was blowing kisses at her, 
holding her hand, until he 
took his last breath,” said Rabbi 
Krakoff.
Mr. Orley is survived by Sally 
Orley, his beloved wife of 71 
years. He was the cherished 
father and father-in-law of 
Geoffrey (Paola) Orley, Randy 
(Diane) Orley and Pamela 
(Dr. Walter) Feuereisen; loving 
“Gramps” of Adam (Alison) 
Orley, Ethan (Laurel) Orley, 
Jordan (Charlene) Orley, 
Amanda Orley (fiancé Jeremy 
Goldman), Samuel Orley, 
Kerri Feuereisen and James 
Feuereisen; proud great-grand-

father of Ben Orley, Maya 
Orley, Naomi Orley, Levi Orley, 
Ruby Orley and Julian Orley. 
He is also survived by his sister, 
Rhea Brody; many nieces and 
nephews, and his caregivers, 
Joyce, Cheryl and Ricci.
Mr. Orley was the son of the 
late Celia and the late George 
Orley; son-in-law of the late 
Lillian and the late Samuel 
Hechtman, grandfather of the 
late George Orley, and brother 
and brother-in-law of the late 
Joseph and the late Suzanne 
Orley and the late Robert Brody.
Interment was at Clover 
Hill Park Cemetery. Contrib-
utions may be made to 
Jewish Federation, George A. 
Orley Memorial Fund, 6735 
Telegraph Road, Bloomfield 
Hills, MI 48301, jewishdetroit.
org/donate-online, (248) 642-
4260; Jewish Family Service, 
6555 W
. Maple Road, West 
Bloomfield, MI 48322, jfs.org, 
(248) 592-2300; or University 
of Michigan Depression 
Center, Orley Family Fund-
700978, Michigan Medicine 
Development, Attn: Sally 
Dillon, 1000 Oakbrook Dr., 
Ste. 100, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, 
victors.us/grahamorley, (734) 
763-4858. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

A Visionary Who Made a Difference

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Graham 
Orley

OF BLESSED MEMORY
OBITUARIES

