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