JUNE 1 • 2023 | 19

Stoler’s family.
After lunch, Hazzan Gross 
took the stage to lead the 
Birkat Hamazon and play 
classic TV theme songs on 
his keyboard for attendees 
to guess, eliciting shouts of 
show titles and laughter, and 
lending the proceedings a 
dose of nostalgia. 
But the real highlight 
of the day was clearly the 
opportunity to gather in 
person. The bonhomie in 
the room was palpable as 
attendees shook off the 
isolation that kept everyone 
apart for the last three years 
and celebrated not only the 
older adults who built the 
Detroit Jewish community, 
but the opportunity to 
gather multiple generations 
of that community together. 
Honorees left with a 
certificate signed by Gov. 

Whitmer and Lt. Gov. 
Gilchrist, as well as a goody 
bag of treats.
Honoree Rose Cooper, 
who lives at JSL’s Hechtman 
Residence, loved the corsage 
and thought the food was 
wonderfully presented. “I 
felt it was an important 
thing to do. Everybody felt 
good about their age. The 
gifts we got were important, 
too. We felt good about 
the certificate from the 
governor. Being honored is a 
good feeling.”
As the last honorees 
departed and the dozens 
of volunteers gathered 
centerpieces and bagged 
leftover scones, the 
afterglow in the room 
suggested that honoring the 
community’s older adults 
was as enjoyable as being 
honored. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JEWISH SENIOR LIFE

Rachel Fox, 108, and 
son Michael Fox, 90

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www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

6735 TELEGRAPH ROAD, SUITE 300 • BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICHIGAN 48301

HebrewFreeLoanDetroit

Community donations help Hebrew Free Loan give 
interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal, 
health, educational and small business needs.

STORY

Our

STORY

Our

Rebecca and Erie Skoczylas were excited to return to 
Michigan after a few years out of state. They found 
and moved into a home they loved, but as Rebecca 
said, “Some parts of the house were stuck in 1960. 
We were making changes as we could.” 
Then a leak in their basement, and the subsequent 
insurance repairs, gave them the opportunity to jump 
start the process and renovate part of their home. 
“When you have walls open and fresh flooring 
going in, it’s the perfect time to make more 
updates,” Rebecca said. “Of course, the insurance 
money wouldn’t cover all our projected costs, so 
we approached Hebrew Free Loan. We are so 
happy with both their support and our renovation.” 
Why HFL? Erie and Rebecca weren’t interested in 
the long process and the lengthy turnaround with 
traditional financing, and they didn’t want to live in 
a construction zone for longer than necessary. They 
were aware of HFL though various friends who had 
college or small business loans through the agency, 
so they applied for a home improvement loan. 
“Detroit’s Jewish community is in a unique position 
with the resources we have available,” Rebecca 
said. “When you need support, we have places 
like Hebrew Free Loan that offer it, with kindness. 
The opportunity to get interest-free funding through 
a process that was simpler and more personal than 
banks – that’s amazing.”

