Persons name
from pay equity to
sexual harassMo-
luptas imincieni
utecte cullatem
volor minusapis et
earum eniminvel earum et et
que modit reictium earum
ratque vollorunt labo. Ut
repello ratur, optat.
Obissitiorum natioreius
nosanih illatet uritis etur?
Luptius nonsequi des maio
Et debis eium excerum laut
vent as et laut dit porestrum,
et plaborporunt as eatquae-
pelit pro bearum, a volorpos
estias dolupie ndenduciatem
consequ istiis quam, ipicilit
volupti oribusam fuga. Menis
vent doluptatem et earchil
licatibus.
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quam nulliquo tem facea dip-
idel enieniant
|
Persons name
from pay equity to
sexual harassMo-
luptas imincieni
utecte cullatem
volor minusapis et
earum eniminvel
earum et et que modit reic-
tium earum ratque vollorunt
labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.
Obissitiorum natioreius
nosanih illatet uritis etur?
Luptius nonsequi des maio
Et debis eium excerum laut
vent as et laut dit porestrum,
et plaborporunt as eatquae-
pelit pro bearum, a volorpos
estias dolupie ndenduciatem
consequ istiis quam, ipicilit
volupti oribusam fuga. Menis
vent doluptatem et earchil
licatibus.
Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad
quam nulliquo tem facea dip-
idel enieniant
Persons name
from pay equity to
sexual harassMo-
luptas imincieni
utecte cullatem
volor minusapis et
earum eniminvel earum et et
que modit reictium earum
ratque vollorunt labo. Ut
repello ratur, optat.
Obissitiorum natioreius
nosanih illatet uritis etur?
Luptius nonsequi des maio
Et debis eium excerum laut
vent as et laut dit porestrum,
et plaborporunt as eatquae-
pelit pro bearum, a volorpos
estias dolupie ndenduciatem
consequ istiis quam, ipicilit
volupti oribusam fuga. Menis
vent doluptatem et earchil
licatibus.
Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad
quam nulliquo tem facea dip-
idel enieniant
Persons name
from pay equity to
sexual harassMo-
luptas imincieni
utecte cullatem
volor minusapis et
earum eniminvel
earum et et que modit reic-
tium earum ratque vollorunt
labo. Ut repello ratur, optat.
Obissitiorum natioreius
nosanih illatet uritis etur?
Luptius nonsequi des maio
Et debis eium excerum laut
vent as et laut dit porestrum,
et plaborporunt as eatquae-
pelit pro bearum, a volorpos
estias dolupie ndenduciatem
consequ istiis quam, ipicilit
volupti oribusam fuga. Menis
vent doluptatem et earchil
licatibus.
Uga. Ut eum volo cor ad
quam nulliquo tem facea dip-
idel enieniant
continued from page XX
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
A
s women’s issues
— from pay equity
to sexual harass
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THIS IS A SUBHEAD
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Name this is LincolnProxima Nova
Bold Italic 8/10 information is Lincoln
Proxima Nova light italic 8/10
Deck 14/15
Lincoln Proxima Nova/Regular
Special Obit
Headline
WRITERS NAME CONTRIBUTING WRITER
continued on page XX
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MARCH 17 • 2022 | 61
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
S
everal weeks have passed since
Robert “Rob” Wachler, 68, died in
his Pleasant Ridge home on Feb. 21,
2022, of an auditory nerve tumor. In that
time, his mother, Barbara Wachler, said she
hasn’t stopped “hearing love stories from
anyone, males as well as females, who ever
had any contact with him. People are say-
ing, ‘He changed my life.
’” That’s because,
for all his accomplishments in business and
charitable work, Rob found his biggest suc-
cess in life through his human relationships.
Professionally, Rob had a long career as
a haberdasher. For more than 25 years, he
was associated with Nashville-based clothier
Tom James Company in Southfield.
Earlier, Rob worked in the Wachler fami-
ly’s former Osmuns and John Kent clothing
stores, and as a manager at the former
Jacobson’s store in Birmingham.
His retailing and relationship-building
abilities served Rob well as board chair of
Threads for Success. The nonprofit orga-
nization he founded in 2006 has mentored
more than 1,000 young men graduating
from high school. The culmination is each
graduate receiving a top-quality, custom-fit-
ted suit, complete with shirt and tie, to look
his most professional at business and aca-
demic interviews.
Rob was born in Detroit on May 26,
1953, to Barbara and the late Norman
Wachler, a longtime executive of the non-
profit agency JARC. Rabbi M. Robert Syme
officiated at Rob’s bar mitzvah at Temple
Israel in Detroit. The Wachlers later moved
to Huntington Woods.
Karen Wachler adored her big brother.
“From as long as I could remember, people
of all ages were always so drawn to Rob,
”
she said. “I felt like the luckiest person in
the world because it was like living back-
stage with a rock star!”
Prior to college, Rob joined the Peace
Corps. He met his future wife and fellow
volunteer, Judy Coomes of Chicago, flying
from New York to Tunisia in North Africa.
They taught English before returning to
Detroit in 1977. Their wedding day was
Dec. 16, 1978.
“Throughout our 45 years together,
we were often surprised and delighted by
each new stage of loving each other,
” Judy
Wachler said. “I feel that we reached a pin-
nacle in our last year as Rob’s disease pro-
gressed. As his life was drawing to a close,
we spoke often of this pure and intense love
we had discovered in those sad yet beautiful
days.
”
DEVOTED TO FAMILY
The Wachler daughters, Sarah and Amy,
were born during the family’s 11 years in
Huntington Woods. The family’s final move
was to Pleasant Ridge in 1990. Judy, a teach-
er, said she and Rob were active parents at
their daughters’ schools.
Amy Wachler said her father “worked
hard but was always present.
” They shared
a bond as marathon runners. “This January
in Houston, I reached a goal I had worked
hard at — running a marathon under 3
hours,
” Amy said. “He was so excited seeing
me run the race of my life. Dad was (virtu-
ally) with me every step.
” The next day he
told her he was starting hospice.
Both daughters hold fond memories of
watching their dad at his clothing stores.
“He sold some of the finest clothing in the
world,
” said Amy. “But my dad didn’t just
help people get dressed for work; he helped
them get ready for life. With Threads for
Success, he helped students get dressed for
their future with confidence.
”
“Dad felt like a lighthouse to my fami-
ly — me, my sister and my mom,
” Sarah
Wachler Philip said. “He was always the
steady beacon you could go to for advice or
to ask questions.
”
Sarah had an opportunity during a sum-
mer college break to work at a guest ranch
in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Her “unparalleled
dad” quickly decided to “take a week out of
his life and drive out west with me.
” Staying
another five days, they took overnight
backpacking trips. When Sarah felt scared
for him to leave, Rob said, “‘You need to
do this on your own. You’re going to have
an adventure. You’re going to be fine.
’” The
“nudge” he gave “built confidence that I
could handle different situations.
”
Her children, ages 13, 11 and 8, always
got a week alone with their grandparents
each year. “Dad took my oldest son, Jack,
then 11, to the Baseball Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, N.Y.,
” Sarah said. “He’
d play
Spiderman on the floor with his youngest
grandson, Miles, and they would go sled-
ding.
” As for his granddaughter Sam — “she
was his princess.
” It was special for the family
in January when, in spite of his illness, Rob
participated in Jack’s bar mitzvah in Ohio.
Rob Wachler is survived by his wife,
Judy; daughters, Sarah (Ben) Philip of
Columbus, Ohio, and Amy (fiancé, Francis
Sams) Wachler of Boston; grandchildren,
Jack, Samantha and Miles Philip; mother,
Barbara Wachler; and sister, Karen (Charley
Stern) Wachler.
He was the son of the late Norman
Wachler and brother of the late Judith Ann
Wachler.
Memorial contributions may be designat-
ed to Threads for Success at
threadsforsuccess.org.
A private funeral gathering took place
Feb. 22. A celebration of his life is being
planned for Memorial Day Weekend.
He Dressed Others for Success
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rob Wachler