OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

T

he Honorable Benjamin Jacob
Friedman, 91, of Huntington Woods,
died peacefully at home on Friday, Feb.
4, 2022.
Born in Detroit on Jan. 19, 1931, to Mary and
Max Friedman, Ben, the youngest of four sib-
lings, was his parents’ “
American Dream” as the
first member of his family born in the
United States.
After graduating from Central
High School, Friedman enlisted in
the Air Force, serving for four years
as a chaplain’s assistant in Amarillo,
Texas, where he met his lifelong
friend, Bernie Mintz. While on leave
in Detroit, Friedman went on a dou-
ble date and met Annie Guyer, even
though she wasn’t his date.
Ben and Annie married on Dec.
25, 1955, the start of a more than
six-decade partnership filled with love, music
and Yiddishkeit. He attended Wayne State
University, earning his undergraduate and law
degrees in five years. While attending classes,
he drove a taxi, sold real estate, taught Hebrew
school and tutored students to support his
growing family.
“He was fearless, confident in what his goals
were,
” said his daughter, Michelle. “Once he
decided he was going to do something, he did it.
”
“He knew how hard he had to work to over-
come his early years, and he wanted to help
others to not have to work that hard and find
success a little easier,
” his son Avi added. “
And
he brought that to every aspect of his life.
”
After building a successful law practice,
Ben was initially elected in 1969 as Oak Park
Municipal Judge. When the court was merged
into the 45-B District Court, he was appointed
as one of the court’s first district judges, and
he served for 34 years as an admired jurist. He
was succeeded on the bench by his daughter
Michelle.
An active member on the board of
Congregation Beth Achim, Ben shared his love
of Judaism and holidays with family and friends,
presiding over countless Shabbat and holiday
dinners.
Ben never missed a simchah and was happiest
surrounded by family and friends discussing his
grandchildren’s most recent achievements, the
latest political news and the inevitable disap-
pointment from the Lions, Tigers and Pistons.

Weekend outings with the family were a reg-
ularity, along with Friedman never missing his
children’s school events. That trickled down to
his grandchildren, even going out of state for
dance recitals, concerts, school plays and sports
games.
Friedman’s oldest son, Jerry, says his father
would consider his children and
grandchildren as his legacy, though it
doesn’t end there if you ask others.
“I think the legal community
would list his legacy as a mentor to
young attorneys to help them learn
how to be better at their job. I think
the Jewish community would list him
as a pillar of the community who
did everything from helping to raise
money to awareness and supporting
leadership from behind the scenes,
and the legacy from his friends would
be that there was never a better friend; if Ben
Friedman was your friend, he would be there
and you knew you could count on him.
”
Friedman is survived by his wife of 66
years, Annie Friedman; his children, Jerry
(Gail) Friedman, Rabbi Avi (Jodi) Friedman,
Honorable Michelle (Jeffrey) Appel and Susan
(Mark) Lichterman; grandchildren, Andrew
(Lauren) Appel, Gabe Appel, Sam (Ariel)
Appel, Sarah (Piotr Gorecki) Friedman, Jason
Friedman, Yossi (Katy) Lichterman, Allie
Lichterman, Eden Lichterman, Gabi Friedman,
Jonah Friedman, Jessica Friedman and Ilana
Friedman. He is also survived by his sisters-in-
law, Sheila Guyer and Cheryl Guyer; many niec-
es, nephews and dear friends.
Friedman was the cherished brother to
the late Irving (Helen) Friedman, the late Eli
(Ethelene) Friedman and the late Ann (Nelson)
Dembs.
To further honor his memory, you may do
so by making a contribution to Yad Ezra, 2850
W
. 11 Mile, Berkley, MI 48072; Jewish Hospice
and Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W
. Maple Road,
West Bloomfield, MI 48322; Congregation Ohr
Shalom, 67 Kent Place Blvd., Summit, NJ 07901;
Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard
Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334.
A funeral service took place at Hebrew
Memorial Chapel. Interment was held at
Adat Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia.
Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

An Admired Jurist

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF REPORTER

56 | FEBRUARY 17 • 2022

Benjamin Friedman

MICHAEL
ATLER, 54, of
Commerce
Township, died
Feb. 2, 2022.
He is survived
by his daughters, Lexi Atler
and Ally Atler; sister, Margaret
Atler; mother, Sandra Pizer.
Mr. Alter was the loving son
of the late Arnold Atler.
Interment was at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery. Contributions
may be made to American
Cancer Society, 20450 Civic
Center Drive, Southfield, MI
48076, cancer.org; or Epilepsy
Foundation of Michigan, 25200
Telegraph Road, Suite 110,
Southfield, MI 48033, epilepsy-
michigan.org. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

GLORIA ELCHONEN, 93, of
Oak Park, died Feb. 6, 2022.
She is survived by her sons
and daughters-in-law, Avraham
and Rochel Elchonen of Oak
Park, Hirsh and Chaya Rochel
Elchonen of Oak Park; daugh-
ters and sons-in-law, Yaffa
and Yossi Kohen of Brooklyn,
N.Y., Malka and Yitzchok
Goldstein of Toronto, Ontario,
Brynde Berkowitz of Lawrence,
N.Y., Sara Golda and Chaim
Garfinkel of Monsey, N.Y.;
brothers and sisters-in-law,
Rabbi Avraham and Shoshana
Gold of Oak Park, Nachum
and Judy Gold of Lakewood,
N.J., Shlomo and Nechama
Gold of Brooklyn, N.Y. She was
a very special grandmother,
great-grandmother and great-
great-grandmother to many.
Mrs. Elchonen was the
beloved wife of the late Yehudah
Elchonen.
Contributions may be
made to Yeshiva Gedolah,
24600 Greenfield Road, Oak
Park, MI 48237; or Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah, P
.O. Box 2044,