20 | JULY 14 • 2022 

pedic surgeon residency in Brooklyn for two years. He returned 
to Michigan to practice at Woodland Medical, Sinai Hospital and 
others before concluding his career at Wayne State University. He 
also served in the U.S. Air Force at the Air War College, where he 
earned the rank of major, practicing orthopedic surgery during the 
Vietnam War era. 
“My career highlight is the great pleasure I took in helping people 
in need. It is extremely satisfying work,
” he said.
He and his wife, Sally Sorscher Krugel, have three sons, Joel, 
Howard and Noah, and six grandchildren. He’s a member of 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, supports Israel and has always been 
active with the Jewish Federation. He spent about four years as 
chair of the JCRC and led its merger with the AJC. He also chaired 
Tamarack Camps and Fresh Air Society. 
Of special note, he helped establish the Jewish Fund after the sale 
of Sinai Hospital, serving as its chair for several years. “I had the 
good fortune to receive the Jewish Federation’s Butzel Award,
” he 
added.

RICHARD LEACH

Richard Leach said he was kind of a nerd during 
his time as president of the June class at 
Mumford High. “I was programmed to become 
a doctor so most of my high school endeavors 
were to be a good student,
” he said.
He went to the University of Michigan after 
Mumford for undergrad and medical school 
and then did his internship and resident training 
in San Francisco. He spent the next 50 years 
in northern California as an OB/GYN. “It has 
been a wonderful experience participating in the 
delivery of thousands of babies,
” he said.
He has fond memories of growing up in 
Detroit and spending summers at Camp 
Tamakwa in Algonquin Park, Ontario.
He’s been married for 51 years to his wife, 
Marcie, a retired nurse. They have four wonderful children and 10 
grandchildren.

RICHARD KUSHNER

Dr. Richard Kushner of Farmington Hills credits 
Mumford High for inspiring his professional 
achievement. As the 1960 Mumford yearbook 
proudly states, “Participation in the nationwide 
gifted student program, in addition to the regu-
lar curriculum, has opened new doors to 
advanced knowledge for Mumfordites …
”
This was exactly the experience he had with 
his chemistry teacher, Mr. Strepek, who led 
students on walks while encouraging them to 
strive and pursue their goals in life. “Mumford 
prepared us well for our academic pursuits,
” 
Richard said. 
The young student also thrived in Mumford’s 
Wyoming and Curtis community, filled with 
Jewish merchants selling everything from 
records to pickles. 
Life after high school was a journey to a profession. Leaving 
the cocoon of Mumford, which was predominantly Jewish at 
the time, Kushner continued his goal of becoming a physician. 
Undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, then Wayne 
State, then out-of-state to medical school where he encountered 
antisemitism. 
After residency in other places, he was looking forward to return-
ing home to family and friends. He established a pediatric and fam-
ily practice clinic on Grand River near Seven Mile in Redford. A 
sole practitioner, he enjoyed giving back to the local community.
After a divorce in 1979, he married Ruby Loberman (Mumford 
class of 1958) in 1981, establishing a blended family of five children 
and now eight grandchildren. They have been married 41 years, 
and in retirement enjoy Detroit’s resurgence with season tickets to 
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and dining at Downtown restau-
rants.
“Sixty-two years since graduating Mumford, it has been a gratify-
ing life, personally and professionally,
” he said. “Having been to 50 
states and three continents, I look forward to our next class reunion 
later this year, where it all began.
”

OUR COMMUNITY
Susan Miller Sosnick 
and Ann Getz-Small 
at an earlier reunion

Harvey Disner and 
Larry Jackier at a 
 
former reunion

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