22 | JANUARY 6 • 2022
B
orn and raised in
Detroit, Wayne State
University School
of Medicine alumnus Steven
Lauter and his brothers were
the first of their family to attend
college.
Their parents had difficult
times, so finances were tight,
but Sadie and Reuben Lauter
encouraged their children to
focus on education. Dr. Lauter
took his parents’ guidance to
heart, receiving full tuition
scholarships and funding assis-
tance for books and supplies for
his undergraduate and medical
degrees, both earned at WSU.
“I have never forgotten that,
and now on the occasion of my
50th reunion from the medical
school, I feel the time is right
to honor WSU and my parents,
who did so much to motivate
and encourage my older brother
Carl and me to pursue careers
in medicine,
” Dr. Lauter said.
With his recent gift to the
School of Medicine, Dr. Lauter
created the Sadie and Reuben
Lauter Endowed Scholarship to
help lighten the financial bur-
den for current and future gen-
erations of medical students.
STARTING IN AMERICA
Both sides of Dr. Lauter’s fam-
ily immigrated to the United
States from Europe. Reuben
Lauter moved to Detroit from
what is now Ukraine, while
his mother, Sadie Kaplowitz,
was born in New York City
to Russian parents. Sadie’s
family moved to Detroit and
opened a kosher restaurant
on Hastings Street, one of the
largest Jewish settlements in
southeast Michigan. While her
parents worked, Sadie went to
school. She attended Central
High School and then trans-
ferred to graduate from the
High School of Commerce. It
served as a finishing school for
female students in areas such
as administrative skills, typing,
penmanship, shorthand and
bookkeeping.
After graduation, Sadie held
numerous positions, including a
secretarial position at the North
End Clinic, the precursor of
DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital.
“During that job, she devel-
oped a love and appreciation for
the medical field, which likely
influenced her to encourage us,
”
Dr. Lauter said.
At the time, the city of
Detroit was home to a robust
community of Jewish immi-
grants. German and Central
European Jews found their
homes in the Hasting Street
neighborhood around 1880,
while Eastern European Jews
arrived in Metro Detroit in
the 20th century. Many more
came to Detroit in the wake of
WWII and the Holocaust. As
the Jewish population grew,
the community expanded to
the 12th Street neighborhood.
It was there that Sadie and
Reuben started their life togeth-
er as a married couple.
The Lauters had three sons:
Carl, Ronald and Steven.
Typical for their community
at the time, Sadie and Reuben
moved the family from small
apartments to larger flats. Dr.
Lauter said, “My older brother
[Carl] reminded me that we
were always cold and had diffi-
culty convincing the landlord to
increase the heat.
”
By the time their eldest son
Carl was 9, the family pur-
chased their first house, in the
Dexter area. The neighborhood
bustled with synagogues, gro-
cery and drugstores, and kosher
butcher shops, restaurants
and delis. It fed into Roosevelt
Elementary and Durfee Junior
High School, which all the boys
attended. Carl and Ronald both
graduated from Central High
School, but Steven transferred
to Mumford High School to
participate in its science and
arts program.
“True to the American tra-
dition,
” Dr. Lauter said, “my
father was kind, quiet and
reserved, known for his strong
work ethic.
”
Reuben balanced numerous
Dr. Steven Lauter creates endowed
scholarship at Wayne State.
Honoring
His Parents
continued on page 24
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT
COURTESY OF WSU
Sadie and
Reuben
Lauter’s
wedding
day
OUR COMMUNITY