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.