OUR COMMUNITY

ugene Driker was a loyal 
Detroit supporter, a highly 
respected attorney, a com-
munity leader, a generous 
philanthropist and, above all, 
a devoted family man. On 
Sept. 29, 2022, Eugene passed 
away peacefully at his Palmer 
Woods home, surrounded by those he held 
most dear. He was 85.
Eugene was known for his impeccable 
ethics, his remarkable negotiating skills 
and an uncanny ability to find workable 
solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. 
One of the highlights of his career was serv-
ing on the mediation team that negotiated 
the 2014 agreements that saved the City of 
Detroit from bankruptcy. 
Eugene was the youngest of three chil-
dren born to Ukrainian immigrants Charles 
and Frances Driker. He and his siblings, 
Ruth and Jack, grew up in the close-knit 
Jewish community near Dexter and 
Davison, in a home where Yiddish was the 
primary language. When asked about the 

most influential people in his life, he always 
named his parents for teaching him to cher-
ish family and friends over material posses-
sions. He brought his parents to life through 
colorful stories about their lives in the old 
country and as new Americans.
“To listen to him was to fall into another 

world,
” said his grandson Caleb.
His leadership and time management 
skills emerged at a young age. He was elect-
ed vice president of his graduating class at 
Central High School despite working every 
summer and putting in long hours at his 
father’s candy store during the school year. 
When it came time for college, he fol-
lowed his siblings’ path to Wayne State 
University. According to one of his oft-told 
stories, his father said he could go to any 
college he wanted … as long as he could get 
there on the Dexter bus.
Eugene felt an immediate affinity for the 
university that continued throughout his 
lifetime. He later described his alma mater 
as “an undervalued jewel” and referred to 
his education as “the portal to the American 
Dream.
” He expressed his gratitude to 
the institution through decades of service 
and financial support that included serv-
ing 12 years on the Board of Governors 
and chairing the Wayne State University 
Foundation and the Law School Board 
of Visitors. He was the first fundraising 

The community mourns the loss of Eugene Driker, a civ-
ic leader who supported its cultural institutions and 
helped mediate the agreements that saved Detroit from 
bankruptcy.

continued on page 14

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

12 | OCTOBER 13 • 2022 

ON THE COVER

Champion
FOR DETROIT
A

“HE WAS AN ICON, 
A GIANT IN THE 
LAW, AN ABSOLUTE 
MENSCH, AND A MAN 
OF ACTION WHO WAS 
A LIVING EXAMPLE 
OF INTEGRITY AND 

WISDOM.”

— TODD MENDEL, PARTNER AT BARRIS, 
SOTT, DENN & DRIKER

