54 | OCTOBER 13 • 2022 

W

hen the Ira 
Kaufman Chapel 
was established in 
1941, it was Detroit’s second 
Jewish funeral home. The first 
was the Detroit Jewish Free 
Burial Association, now the 
Hebrew Memorial Chapel, a 
nonprofit established in 1916 
that continues to serve the com-
munity.
The Jewish community was 
expanding, and founder Ira 
Kaufman “saw a need” and 
turned a house at Dexter and 
Edison in Detroit into a funer-
al home, according to David 
Techner, funeral director at the 
Ira Kaufman Chapel. An adver-
tisement in the first edition of 
the Jewish News states that “Ira 
Kaufman, Funeral Director, 
is ready to serve the Jewish 
community with beauty, under-
standing and dignity, conform-
ing to our Jewish customs and 
practices.
” 
Herbert Kaufman soon 
joined his father. From the 
beginning, the Kaufmans were 
committed to personalized 
attention, answering the phone 
themselves, even for late-night 
calls, rather than relying on an 
answering service.
By 1959, Ira Kaufman was 
considering a new location for 
the funeral home because of 
studies that showed that the 
Jewish community was moving 
north and west from Detroit. 
He wanted to offer convenient 
access and engaged a profes-
sional to find a location that 
made sense for the future. 

The result was a building on 
Nine Mile Road in Southfield, 
which was completed in 1961. 
With three acres and a very 
large parking lot, Techner 
thinks that people appreciate 
the building, which is close to 
three freeways and accessible 
to both west side and east side 
Jewish cemeteries. 
David Techner met Herb 
Kaufman in 1965 when he was 
a 14-year-old visiting Kaufman’s 
daughter Ilene. As the chapel 
had nine funerals scheduled for 
the following Monday, Kaufman 
asked him if he had a suit and 
would be willing to help out. 
He agreed — the start of a part-
time job and eventual career.
Later Techner and Ilene 
Kaufman married and Techner 
joined the Ira Kaufman Chapel 
on a full-time basis. He received 
a funeral director’s license in 
1974 and is a past president of 
the Michigan Funeral Directors 
Association. Ira Kaufman died 
in 1962 and Herb Kaufman 
died in 2018.
While core components of 
Jewish funerals remain the 
same, some changes have 
occurred, according to Techner. 
“People are bringing their 
family members home to die,
” 
he says, while in the past funer-
al staff often went to Sinai or 
Providence hospitals. 
“The biggest single change 
that I wouldn’t have predicted is 
cremation,
” Techner says. About 
10 to 12 percent of their funer-
als now include cremation. “
A 
lot of people don’t want a grave 

and want ashes spread on a 
specific space. We had one man 
who wanted his ashes spread in 
a certain space. The family was 
very grateful. It’s their funeral.
”
COVID didn’t change how 
they handle funerals, but masks 
are required. “People like the 
comfort of that,
” Techner says.
An increasing number of 
funerals are held at grave 
side because “the community 
likes the one-stop aspect,
” he 
explains. “We’re happy to be 
inclusive and give people what 
they want.
” 
Techner is proud of their 
record-keeping system that 
maintains family histories and 
strong connections with local 
cemeteries. Josh Tobias, who 
has a background in financial 
services, joined the Ira Kaufman 
Chapel in 2010. 
The fourth generation of the 
Kaufman family, Chad Techner, 

David’s son, worked part-time 
at the Kaufman Chapel during 
high school and later returned 
after college. 
“Being able to be helpful to 
people in a time of need has 
always been something I’ve 
been drawn to,
” he explains. 
He considers his role there as 
another form of support for the 
community, along with his vol-
unteer work for the nonprofit 
Metro Food Rescue Service, 
which he founded.
“We’re flexible. We’re happy 
to be inclusive and give people 
what they want. We’re here to 
serve the families,
” Techner 
says. 

Ira Kaufman Chapel has served the 
community for more than 80 years.

Comfort in 
Times of Grief

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BUSINESS
LONGTIME BUSINESSES

David Techner (rear), 
Josh Tobias, (front left), 
and Chad Techner

If you know of a local Jewish-
owned for-profit business that 
has been in operation for 60 
or more years, contact: Jackie 
Headapohl at jheadpohl@
thejewishnews.com. 

