JUNE 15 • 2023 | 25
who live out of town and
hope to visit them more
often.
David Techner has been
very active in the Jewish
community and is especially
proud of being a founder of
Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy
Network, which helps
patients and families with
chronic illnesses and end-of-
life support.
He initiated a project with
the Wayne County medical
examiner, along with other
local funeral directors and
cemeteries, to help with
identification and burial of
unclaimed individuals at
the county morgue. Techner
read about the problem some
years ago and enlisted the
Jewish Fund to help with
burial costs.
Techner’s calm, low-key
manner and professional
expertise are reassuring as
families cope with the loss
of a loved one and decisions
about a funeral service, buri-
al and shivah. Despite the
nature of his work, Techner
doesn’t find it to be over-
whelmingly sad.
“Most of the time, we’re
dealing with people whose
deaths are not unexpected,”
he explains. His focus is
fulfilling the Ira Kaufman
tradition of putting families
first — providing what they
want.
Techner has a particular
interest in supporting chil-
dren as they cope with death
and will go to a home to meet
with a child. He suggests that
“Honesty is the best policy”
when telling a child about
a family member’s death.
Techner says the explanation
could be “Grandpa was sick,
and his body stopped work-
ing. Now we’re planning for
his burial.”
Techner co-wrote a 1993
book — A Candle for Grandpa
— that explains Jewish
funeral practices from the
perspective of a young boy.
It includes insights from
memories of his grandfather’s
death when he was 9.
The Ira Kaufman Chapel
handles 370 to 400 funerals
annually. Throughout the
years, Techner says that long-
held Jewish traditions about
burial have been maintained.
However, some variations
during the height of the pan-
demic have continued.
Today, most funerals
handled by Ira Kaufman
Chapel are live-streamed,
which is much appreciated
by out-of-town relatives and
friends. Also, there has been
an increase in funerals that
are held at the graveside
rather than in the chapel.
Even before the pandemic,
the duration of shivah typ-
ically had shortened, and
cremation had become more
acceptable by some within
the Jewish community.
While Josh Tobias, 48, is
not a Kaufman family mem-
ber, he has known Techner
since he was very young. “I’m
grateful for the opportunity
he has given me for the past
13 years. He’s a great partner,”
Tobias says. “My goal is a
seamless transition that has
been going on for a while.
I’ve learned from David.”
His focus is to take care
of the families who come to
the Ira Kaufman Chapel and
fulfill their needs. Tobias is
president of JARC’s board
and is a past board member
of Temple Israel.
“I have all the confidence
in the world in Josh,” says
Techner, who adds that the
chapel has “as good a staff as
we’ve ever had.”
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