104 | MAY 18 • 2023

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

B

uilding a successful
business in home
decor brought Paul
Katzman the ability to be
generous to his communi-
ty and family. He formerly
owned Kay & Kay Tile, Mrs.
Kay’s Wallpaper, Blinds &
More, and American Blind &
Wallpaper Factory.
The entrepreneur taught
his children and grandchil-
dren lessons about business
and life, but the greatest
impact on them may have
come from watching his
devotion to his wife, Lois.
Their wedded bliss lasted 66
years.
Mr. Katzman, 90, of
Bloomfield Hills succumbed
to Parkinson’s disease on May
6, 2023. Rabbi Harold Loss
and Cantor Michael Smolash
of Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield officiated at his
funeral service. Smolash sang
“Listen,” the Katzmans’ favor-
ite song at temple.
Paul was born Jan. 6, 1933,
in Brooklyn to Ida, a Sabra
from Palestine, and Hyman,
from Russia. The couple
married in Israel but moved
to the U.S. for better opportu-
nities. When Paul was 1, the
family left New York to join
Ida’s brother in Detroit.
Lois Feldstein and Paul
first laid eyes on each other
at Central High School in
Detroit. The attraction was
mutual. After graduation,
Paul served in the U.S. Air
Force and received an honor-
able medical discharge. Paul
and Lois wed at his family’s
Congregation B’nai Moshe in
Detroit.
In 1950, Paul and his father
Hyman founded Kay & Kay

Tile in Detroit, the first of the
family’s three businesses.
Steve Katzman was 7 when
he started visiting stores with
Paul. He described his father
as “a hard worker, impecca-
ble, loyal as the day was long,
competitive and disciplined.”
At one point, the Katzmans
operated 30 stores in Michigan
and Illinois, as well as own-
ing American Blind, their
large mail-order company in
Plymouth, Michigan. They
sold the companies in 1993.

CHARITABLE HEART
For Paul, doing well was a
means to an end. “He found
joy in writing checks and giv-
ing tzedakah,” Loss said.
The Katzmans set up a
charitable foundation. They
gave, in particular, to Temple
Israel and JARC, a nonprofit
that provides housing and
services to enable adults with
developmental disabilities to
live full and meaningful lives.
“Paul Katzman and the
Katzman family have been
extremely generous to JARC
over the years,” said David
Carroll, JARC’s former inter-
im CEO and past president.
“Their giving included a large
gift that went toward procur-

ing JARC’s former headquar-
ters in Farmington Hills.”
Cortney Barnett, oldest of
the 16 Katzman grandchil-
dren, has a congenital heart
condition. In her eulogy,
she said, “When I was going
through my heart surgery,
‘Papa’ [as Paul’s grandkids call
him] helped me to set up my
nonprofit for heart research
[The Cortney Gives BAK
Foundation].”
Papa, she said, would be
remembered for “his love,
generosity and playfulness.”
Heidi Wineman said her
father would bargain with her,
giving her nearly everything
she wanted, “‘if you give me a
kiss.’” Then he’d add, “Be sure
to give your mom a kiss, too.
“He devoted his entire
marriage to worshipping my
mother,” Heidi said. “They
were extra happily married.”
“Dad sang ‘There She Is,
Miss America’ to her daily,”
Steven said. “He gave her pas-
sionate kisses several times a
day. I did not know where he
ended and she began.”
The Katzmans’ common
interests included tennis,
dancing and travel. They
rarely made independent
social plans, although David
Katzman spoke of his teenage
“guys’ trip” to Las Vegas with
Dad. Appointments were
coordinated, including back-
to-back sessions with their
personal trainer.
“Paul and Lois had unity,”
Loss said. “They were a warm
and engaging couple.”
Steven recalled when his
parents recently were in ICU
rooms next to each other at
Corewell Health-Royal Oak.
“We arranged a Facetime

for them. Even in pain, he
leaned up to his iPad to kiss
her face on the screen,” Steven
said. “His happy place was
being next to my mom.”
Paul was the beloved hus-
band of Lois Katzman; father
of Alisa (Jeff) Ambrose,
Heidi (Hank) Wineman,
David (Heather) Katzman
and Steven (Elizabeth)
Katzman; grandfather of
Michael (Lauren) Ambrose,
Cortney (Seth) Barnett,
Shelby Dotan, Deni (Matt)
Kibort, Jane Wineman, Jack
Wineman, Jordan (Alex)
Katzman, Rachel Katzman,
Adam Katzman, Kendra
Katzman, Nicole Katzman,
Randi Katzman, Noah
Katzman, Henry Katzman,
Ben Katzman and Harlow
Katzman; great-grandfather
of Rose Barnett, Summer
Barnett, Mason Ambrose,
Leon Dotan and Alon Dotan.
He was the brother-in-law
of Paul Bragman, Shirley (the
late Sam) Gilbert and the late
Robert Feldstein; uncle of
Jimmy (Debbie) Bragman,
Gary (Charlotte) Gilbert and
Dan (Jennifer) Gilbert, and
survived by devoted caregiv-
ers, including eulogist Anu
Jawanda.
Paul also was the devoted
son of the late Hyman and
the late Ida Katzman and
brother of the late Ethel
Bragman.
Interment was at
Oakview Cemetery in Royal
Oak. Contributions may be
made to the Cortney Gives
BAK Foundation, 18540
Hillcrest, Beverly Hills, MI
48025; cortneygivesbak.com.
Arrangements were by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.

An Entrepreneur and Family Man

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Paul
Katzman