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child, when “all the ducks and geese would 
come to him” at the Greenfield Village pond 
in Dearborn. “They’
d fly away when other 
people came,
” she said. “Pretty much all his 
life, not only did he love animals, they loved 
him.
” 
After the “celebration of life” held in Idan’s 
honor at Beth Shalom in late December 
2021, Mark and Aviva decided to do “some-
thing” in Idan’s honor at the city’s proposed 
dog park. 
“We started up a GoFundMe 
[crowd-sourcing fundraiser] maybe a year 
after Idan passed away,
” Aviva said. “We 
thought maybe we would purchase a shelter 
or a bench.
”
Idan was employed in Madison Heights 
at Animal Welfare Society (AWS) of 
Southeastern Michigan, where he originally 
started as a volunteer. AWS wrote a note 
about missing Idan at the shelter on his 
GoFundMe site, adding: “We are happy to 
donate to this great cause. Rest in Peace, 
Idan. We are certain you are welcoming 
every dog as it crosses the rainbow bridge.
”
“The thing that he was most proud of was 
his ability to take dogs that were abused, 
afraid of people, and generally unadopt-
able and turn them into loving pets,
” Aviva 
said. “His heart was so big, and he loved 
every dog, but especially the ‘broken’ ones.
” 

A MURAL FOR IDAN
Mark is administrator of “North Oak 
Park Neighbors,” a Facebook page. After 
stating his intention to solicit funds for 
his son’s memorial, Mark was intrigued to 
find a post from local artist Joey Salamon 
(joeysalamon.art). Born in Indiana and 
raised in Midland, Joey is an art gradu-
ate of Grand Valley State University in 
Allendale. His signature style, featuring “a 
rainbow-colored palette,” is well-suited to 
creating eye-catching, large-scale public 
murals, including two displayed in down-
town Ferndale. He’s been at it for eight 
years, but also is skilled in fine art and 
illustration.
Joey’s mural commissions take him 
throughout Michigan and beyond, including 
sites in California, Arizona and Colorado. A 
notable installation is his “Rainbow Road” 
street mural (2019), celebrating LGBT pride 
in downtown Grand Rapids. Joey’s domestic 
partner, Matt Buskard, owns the expanding 

Bobcat Bonnie restaurant chain. 
Mark was all-in to fund a mural after see-
ing Joey’s design for the dog park — the only 
drawing Joey submitted to him — around 
nine months ago. Mark went to the owner 
of Excell Snow & Turf Maintenance, a land-
scaping company at 11000 Capital St., to see 
if a mural could be painted on the back side 
of the building overlooking the future dog 
park. The owner was “more than happy to 
donate the blank space,
” Mark said.
By September 2022, and with enough 
money raised, he brought his mural pro-
posal to the Dog Park Committee. Three 
months later, the Beautification Committee 
also gave its consent. Then the proposal 
went before the full City Council. 
“City Manager Erik Tungate has been a 
big fan of the mural project,” Mark said, 
as is McClellan. She noted in her March 
“Mayor’s Message” to constituents: “Joey 
Salamon uses lots of bright colors in an 
abstract design, so the mural radiates hap-
piness and positivity.”
On Feb. 6, the city of Oak Park approved 
the project for the dog park. That prompt-
ed a Facebook post from Idan’s brother, 

Roey: “To be able to physically express the 
joy Idan brought to this world means so 
much to me and my family [including his 
wife, Bridget Cooney]. My dogs Stormie 
and Rebel look forward to taking selfies in 
front of the mural.”
Brother Segev’s comments included: “The 
mural is beautiful but seeing it is bittersweet. 
No one would have loved it more than Idan, 
and he isn’t here to see it.
” 
Aviva said the larger Phillips family from 
Illinois, Ohio and Georgia will come togeth-
er in October for the unveiling of a plaque 
for Idan at the mural. Friends of the family 
will be invited as well.
“Seeing this mural beyond just the pro-
totype drawing makes me so teary-eyed 
with bittersweet emotions,
” said Segev’s wife, 
Courtney Phillips, on Facebook, also giving 
thanks to her in-laws for “such a beautiful 
landmark in Idan’s community.
” 
“When people see the mural, I hope they 
will think about the beauty in the world, give 
their dogs an extra scratch behind the ear 
and tell people they love them,
” Segev said. 
“I will forever wish I had one more chance 
to do so.
” 

Muralist Joey 
Salamon

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

