OUR COMMUNITY

A

fter 58 years at the 
Ira Kaufman Chapel, 
David Techner, 71, 
has decided it’s time for a 
change. “It’s time. I’ve been 
doing this a long time. It’s 
time for a change for the chap-
el and for me,” he explains. 
Techner will now be Ira 
Kaufman’s Funeral Director 
Emeritus, continuing to work 
onsite and at some funerals 
but not personally handling 
all the chapel’s 24/7 opera-
tions and funeral arrange-
ments. Co-owner Josh Tobias, 
48, who has worked at Ira 
Kaufman Chapel since 2010, 
will take on more responsibili-
ties with this transition.
Both are committed to 
maintaining the philosophy 
of Ira Kaufman, who found-
ed the chapel at Dexter and 
Edison in Detroit in 1941. 
From the beginning, Kaufman 
focused on personalized ser-
vice to families in accordance 
with Jewish burial traditions. 
His son Herbert later joined 
his father and, in 1961, the Ira 
Kaufman Chapel moved to a 
new building on Nine Mile 
Road in Southfield, its current 
location.
Techner began working at 
the funeral chapel through 

his friendship with Ilene, 
Herbert’s daughter. On a 
Thanksgiving weekend, 
Techner, then 14, came to 
pick Ilene up for a date. Herb 
Kaufman asked if he had a 
dark suit and would be will-
ing to help out at the funeral 
home that weekend when 
nine funerals were scheduled. 
That experience developed 
into a part-time job and then 
a career at the Ira Kaufman 
Chapel.
Ilene and David later mar-
ried. He became a licensed 
funeral director in 1974 and 
is a past president of the 
Michigan Funeral Directors 
Association.
As a teenager, Ilene Techner 
worked part-time at Ira 
Kaufman Chapel, answering 
the phone and writing yahrzeit 
notices. However, she chose a 
different occupation — own-
ing and operating a construc-
tion company. Their son, 
Chad, is a chapel staff member 
and followed the tradition of 
working there part-time when 
he was still a student.
“I think it’s time for David 
to relax and enjoy life but 
he’s not disappearing,” Ilene 
Techner says. The couple has 
children and grandchildren 

David Techner shifts to emeritus 
status at Ira Kaufman Chapel.

Ira Kaufman 
Chapel Plans 
Leadership 
Transition

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

24 | JUNE 15 • 2023 

David Techner and Josh Tobias