B

arbara Frankel, 89, of 
West Bloomfield, died 
Dec. 19, 2022. 
 She was born in Topeka, 
Kansas, on Oct. 27, 1933, to 
Helen and Laurence 
Gottman; and she 
moved to Michigan 
as a young child. 
Barbara dedicated 
her life to the arts 
and philanthropy, 
including volun-
teering at the Jewish 
Home and Aging 
Services, where she 
created and taught a 
jewelry class to seniors for 
many years. She was a proud 
recipient of the 8 Over 80 
award. 
Mrs. Frankel was a pas-
sionate supporter of the 
Detroit Opera, where she was 
a board member and estab-
lished the Frankel Lounge 
to ensure the best possible 
experience for patrons. She 
always loved opera and was 
determined to ensure the 
success of the Detroit Opera 
after she met the founder, Dr. 
David DiChiera. She was also 
an ardent supporter of the 
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 
where she was on the board 
and endowed the DSO bass 
clarinet chair. Barbara knew 
the names of everyone at the 
opera and symphony. Those 
relationships were more than 
just a friendly hello; Barbara 
knew their families and their 
stories. She cherished each 
and every person she met. 
Barbara felt the arts were 
critical to the success of any 
great city and worked tireless-
ly for their continued success 
and to introduce as many 
people as possible to the sym-
phony and opera as well as 
the Detroit Zoo and Detroit 

Institute of Arts, which she 
also enjoyed and generously 
supported. 
Mrs. Frankel spent her 
summers living on a sailboat 
and, later in life, a 
power boat in the 
North Channel 
in northern Lake 
Huron, keeping 
her boat at Great 
Lakes Yacht Club 
and Gore Bay, 
Ontario. Barbara 
loved her many 
boating friends and 
relished her time in 
Gore Bay. After she stopped 
boating, she rented an apart-
ment in Detroit overlooking 
the river as her “weekend 
getaway.” She loved exploring 
the city and seeing the rebirth 
of Detroit. The water was 
her happy place, whether it 
was Lake St. Clair, the North 
Channel/Lake Huron, the 
Gulf of Mexico, the Dead Sea 
or the Detroit River.
Barbara spent a good part 
of each winter in Longboat 
Key, Sarasota, Florida. She 
loved being there but didn’t 
want to spend the entire win-
ter in Florida since it meant 
being away from her children 
and grandchildren. She had a 
special and personal relation-
ship with each of them. 
Barbara’s greatest joy was 
creating memories with 
friends and family, which 
often included seeing the 
world. She and her hus-
band, Ron, saw all corners 
of the world: Israel (with 
her beloved Temple Israel 
family), Antarctica, England, 
Italy, Spain, the Bahamas, the 
Galapagos, Alaska, Russia, 
Norway, Sweden, Germany, 
Portugal, China, Croatia, 
where they would always be 

seen holding hands while 
taking in the sights. Her chil-
dren and grandchildren were 
often invited and joined them 
on some trips. 
It took her months to fig-
ure out what she wanted for 
her 60th birthday, rejecting 
ideas of jewelry and other 
items that were solely for her 
benefit, she finally decided 
on a trip on the Windstar, a 
70-cabin sailing yacht, to the 
French and Italian rivieras 
with her husband and adult 
children. It was always about 
family to Barbara. 
Mrs. Frankel was described 
as stunningly beautiful, 
warm, kind, gracious, loving, 
nurturing, thoughtful, wel-
coming, generous and elegant 
by all that met her. Barbara 
was always immaculately put 
together wherever she was; 
she would even look elegant 
in her perfectly coordinated 
boating outfit and deck shoes. 
She genuinely made 
whomever she was with feel 
like the most important per-
son in the world because she 
deeply cared about the people 
in her life. 
She is survived by her 
husband, Ron Michalak; her 
children, Mark (Nanci) and 
Laurie; her grandchildren, 
Zachary (Mallory), Eric, Leia, 
Nathan and Blake (Kelsey); 
sister, Virginia (Charles) 
Slickis; her former spouse, 
Herman (Sharon) Frankel; 
and Ron’s children, Patrick 
and Christopher. She was 
predeceased by her sister, 
Jacqueline Kaczmarek.
Contributions may be 
made to Detroit Opera, 
1526 Broadway, Detroit, MI 
48226; or Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra, 3711 Woodward 
Ave., Detroit, MI 48201. 

A Patron of the Arts

Barbara Frankel

continued on page 58

JANUARY 5 • 2023 | 57

html; or to a Jewish charity 
of choice. Arrangements by 
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

VIOLA KLEIN, 
100, of 
Bloomfield Hills, 
died Dec. 25, 
2022. 
She is survived 
by her sons and daughter-
in-law, Alfred Klein, and 
Jeffrey and Victoria Klein; 
daughters and son-in-law, 
Fran Parker, and Susan 
and Howard Friedlaender; 
grandchildren, Rebekah and 
David Wilansky, Daniel and 
Sasha Parker, Nicole and Joe 
Martinez, Beth and Jason 
Kadlec, David and Leila 
Friedlaender, and Dylan, 
Amanda, Jacob and Brooke 
Klein; great-grandchildren, 
Reagan and Sierra Wilansky, 
Ian Philip Parker and Skylar 
Kadlec; many nieces, neph-
ews and a world of friends. 
Mrs. Klein was the beloved 
wife for 62 years of the late 
Gerson Klein; the loving 
mother-in-law of the late 
Phil Parker; the dear sister 
of the late Alexander and the 
late Jenny Greenberger, the 
late Ilona, Reli and Magda; 
the devoted daughter of 
the late Rose (Lefkovitz) 
Greenberg and the late Julius 
Greenberg. 
Interment was at Clover 
Hill Park Cemetery. 
Contributions may be direct-
ed to Zekelman Holocaust 
Center, 28123 Orchard 
Lake Road, Farmington 
Hills, MI 48334, holocaust-
center.org; Magen David 
Adom, 3175 Commercial 
Ave., Suite 101, Northbrook, 
IL 60062, afmda.org; or 
to any Jewish chari-
ty. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

