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