20 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021 

was a frequent Kay family trip. 
Chesed Shel Emes has several 
memorial benches dedicated to 
the Jewish residents of commu-
nities that were decimated by 
the Nazis. Kay wanted to install 
a bench, but cemetery rules 
permitted memorial benches 
only for entire Jewish commu-
nities, not individual families. 

Undaunted, Kay designed an 
addition to the existing mon-
ument — one that highlighted 
the 800 Jewish families from 
Wloszczowa who were killed by 
the Nazis. A stone bench was 
then installed at the plot and 
there was a dedication for the 
expanded monument in 1990.
Next to the Kay monument 

is a burial plot for a fellow 
Holocaust survivor, a man 
whom Kay knew in Detroit. 
Despite some rancorous busi-
ness dealings between them, 
when the man died, destitute 
and with no friends or relatives 
to bury him, Kay paid for his 
burial and held shivah for him 
at the Kay family home in Oak 
Park.
This was one of many 
of Louis Kay’s good deeds 
remembered by family, former 
employees and friends. He 
helped individuals in need, 
regardless of their religion, race 
or personal circumstances. In 
1989, he was recognized as a 
Jewish News Mitzvah Hero. Kay 
sold 10,000 trees for the Jewish 
National Fund through Detroit 
B’nai B’rith and was active in 
many charitable organizations, 
especially those supporting 
Israel. He received the State of 
Israel’s New Life Award that 

honors Holocaust survivors for 
major achievements.
The death of almost an entire 
family leaves an unimaginable 
burden of loss and sadness. 
But Louis Kay’s survival meant 
that his four children (Rhonda, 
Marc, Avi and Stuart), their 10 
children and four grandchil-
dren will sustain the family 
name and help ensure the con-
tinuity of the Jewish commu-
nity. 
Marc Kay’s son, Joshua, 
helped to bring about a state 
law mandating Holocaust 
education in Arizona. It was a 
difficult three-year effort led 
by local Holocaust survivors to 
ensure that the horrors of the 
Holocaust are known now and 
in the future.
Louis Kay died in 1999 at 
age 73. He and his wife, Gladys, 
are buried in graves that are 
adjacent to the Kay memorial 
monument. 

OUR COMMUNITY

Stuart Kay of Franklin visits his father, Louis Kay’s grave

continued from page 19

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