34 | MAY 12 • 2022 

F

rom tragedy and grief has 
come a generous gift that 
will help those in the com-
munity who are struggling with 
mental illness.
Mary Must, 102, has donated 
$100,000 to JVS+Kadima, which 
runs 20 residential houses and 
apartments for adults with severe 
and long-term mental illness.
The gift continues Must’s 
munificence to the organization. 
In 2008, she bought a home in 
Southfield, to be administered by 
JVS+Kadima, in memory of her 
granddaughter, Miya Jo Must, 
who died by suicide in 2007 at the 
age of 28.
Must also included 
JVS+Kadima in her will, planning 

to leave $100,000 to the organi-
zation. She recently decided to 
make that gift now, in her and 
her late husband’s names, while 
she is still living. The new Mary 
and Mike (z”l) Must Home 
Improvement Fund will enhance 
life for JVS+Kadima’s residents. 
She said this would let her see the 
benefits her gift made possible. 
After her death, she asked, “How 
would I know then?”
Mary Must was born in 
Detroit. She and Mike married 
when he was 23 and she was 18. 
They worked side-by-side in 
the family business, Dairy Fresh 
Foods Inc., a regional wholesale 
distributor that grew from a small 
cheese-making business started 

by Mike’s father. She oversaw the 
back-office activities for decades, 
said grandson Jay Must, of 
Bloomfield Township.
“My grandmother worked and 
still meaningfully contributed 
into her 98th year,
” he said. “I 
know because I was one of three 
people who shared her workload 
when she was off!”
The Musts lived in Detroit, 
Oak Park and Southfield. Mary 
moved to a condo in Bloomfield 
Township after Mike died in 
1997. They had three children, 
Alan Must, the late Madelon 
Seligman and Joel Must. Mary 
has eight surviving grandchildren 
and 10 great-grandchildren ages 3 
months to 22.

The Musts were longtime 
members and lay leaders of 
now-defunct Congregation B’nai 
David, where Mike was a past 
president. For many years, Mary 
cared for the underfunded B’nai 
David Cemetery on Van Dyke in 
Detroit. She stopped only when 
the groundskeeper left. The 
Musts supported many Jewish 
causes locally and in Israel.

MIYA’S LEGACY
Miya Must attended Cranbrook-
Kingswood School and graduated 
from Bloomfield Hills Andover 
High School.
She struggled with mental 
health problems from an early 
age, said her younger sister, Kacee 

OUR COMMUNITY

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MONNI MUST NATURALLY PHOTOGRAPHY

Mary Must

JVS+Kadima receives donation to help people 
with mental illness.

Grieving Grandmother 
Benefits Group Homes

Miya Must

Hadassah sent a letter to mem-
bers of Congress outlining the 
disproportionate impact infertil-
ity has on the Jewish community 
and urging Congress to recog-
nize that infertility is a disease 
that needs further research to 
improve treatments and out-

comes and that individuals and 
families need access to infertili-
ty-related services.
“For too long, infertility and 
the struggle toward parenthood 
have been topics of quiet suffer-
ing, particularly in the Jewish 
community,
” said Rhoda Smolow, 
Hadassah National President. 
“That’s why Hadassah is leading 
the call for change. By asking 
policymakers to expand access 

to infertility care and reduce the 
financial burden of treatments, 
we are empowering all of the 
patients, families and commu-
nities infertility affects. We are 
grateful for the strong support 
of our partners across the Jewish 
community.
”
One in eight couples in the 
United States reports having 
trouble getting pregnant or sus-
taining a pregnancy and nearly 

12% of women have received 
infertility services in their life-
time. 
The letter asks members of 
Congress to support a biparti-
san, Hadassah-backed resolu-
tion sponsored by Rep. Debbie 
Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and 
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX). 
Members of Congress on 
both sides of the aisle have 
co-sponsored this resolution with 

Hadassah Advocates 
for Infertility 
Treatments

