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