OUR COMMUNITY

I

n 1983, Jewish community
leader and philanthropist
Larry Wolfe experienced
a major change in his outlook
and attitude toward Jewish life.
While on a mission to Israel
with his wife, Andi, Larry,
despite not wanting to go ini-
tially, had a revelation as to
what being Jewish truly meant.
It was the mission leader,
David Hermelin, and Larry’s
father-in-law, D. Dan Kahn,
both of blessed memory, who
had encouraged him to go.
“Going to Israel changed my
outlook on my Jewish identity
and how important it was to
understand our Jewish tradi-
tions and values,
” Wolfe, 73,
says.
“It was a legacy that was
brought to us over thousands
of years,
” he explains, and even
more so when the State of Israel
came into existence in 1948.
Back home in Michigan,

Wolfe became seriously
involved in Jewish life and vol-
unteer work. Since then, he’s
been to Israel more than 100
times and continues to help
lead Jewish culture in Metro
Detroit.
Now, nearly 40 years later,
he’s made such an impact on
the local community (and
national and international
Jewish life) that Wolfe will be
receiving this year’s Fred M.
Butzel Award from the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit to honor his lifetime of
service, impact and commit-
ment.
“Since 1951, the Fred M.
Butzel Award has represented
the community’s highest honor
for volunteer leadership,
” says
Steven Ingber, Federation CEO.
“I cannot think of anyone more
deserving of this award than
my friend and mentor, Larry
Wolfe.
”

Born in London, Ontario,
and growing up in the old
Dexter-Davison area, a Jewish
enclave in Detroit that his fam-
ily moved to when he was 5
years old, Wolfe was immersed
in Judaism from a young age.
He attended a Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah afternoon school for
Hebrew, later moving to Oak
Park in the 1960s, where a
strong Jewish community also
existed.

LAW AND BUSINESS
In 1970, he married Andi,
whom he dated in high school.
Wolfe attended Wayne State
University and then Detroit
College of Law to pursue his
dream of becoming an attorney.
He and Andi have two chil-
dren: son Jeremy and wife,
Liz, who live in Huntington
Woods, and daughter Ericka
and husband, Matt, who live in
Chicago. The Wolfes have six

grandchildren. For a little over
seven years, Wolfe practiced
law with a mid-sized firm in
Detroit before a new opportu-
nity presented itself.
When Andi’s father, philan-
thropist D. Dan Kahn, invited
Larry to join his business of
distributing industrial supplies,
tooling and machinery, he
accepted the proposition. In
fact, he remained with the com-
pany until 2017, when Larry
ultimately sold it. Yet in those
in-between years, Wolfe began
his steady involvement in local

For a lifetime of service, Larry Wolfe will
receive Federation’s Butzel award.

‘A Most
Dynamic
Leader’

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

18 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021