AUGUST 10 • 2023 | 53

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Alan E. Schwartz: A Detroit Giant

W

hile he is best known as a 
legal legend who co-founded 
the prestigious Honigman 
law firm, Alan E. Schwartz was also a 
dedicated Jewish community leader, 
an avid Detroit supporter, a generous 
philanthropist and patron of the arts, 
a devoted public servant and a loving 
husband, father, grandfather and 
great-grandfather. Alan, who lived in 
Birmingham, passed away July 27 at the 
age of 97.
The son of Maurice and Sophie 
Schwartz, Alan grew up in Detroit with 
his sister and brother, the late Marilyn 
(“Mitzi”) and the late Cyril (“Chris”). 
Maurice, an attorney, realized the value 
of a good education and enrolled Alan 
in Cranbrook Schools, where he became 
captain of the basketball team. After 
high school, he attended the University 
of Michigan, where he played varsity 
football until he was called to serve in 
the U.S. Navy during World War II. 
After two years in Guam, he returned 
to Ann Arbor to finish his studies and 
graduate with distinction. 
He attended Harvard Law School, 
where he was an editor of the Law 
Review and graduated magna cum 
laude, second in his class. 
Alan’s life changed when his sister, 
Mitzi, introduced him to his future 
wife, Marianne Shapero. Although Alan 
was working on Wall Street, the couple 
decided to return to their hometown of 
Detroit to start their family. They spent 
the next 67 years raising three children, 
welcoming grandchildren and great-
grandchildren and sharing a mutual 
devotion to the arts, community service 
and numerous charitable causes.
In 1952, Alan joined Jason L. 
Honigman and Milton J. “Jack” Miller 
to create Honigman, Miller and 
Schwartz, known today as Honigman 
LLP. Alan’s outstanding leadership 
and innate business acumen was 
instrumental to the firm’s extraordinary 

growth and continued success. Today, 
the firm enjoys an outstanding 
reputation that extends far beyond 
Detroit, with a prestigious client list 
and offices across Michigan as well as 
Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Israel. 
“Our firm is what it is today because 
of his wisdom and vision and foresight,” 
said Alan S. Schwartz (no relation), 
Vice Chair and immediate past CEO 
at Honigman, LLP. “He wanted to 
create a powerful Detroit law firm that 
represented important corporations 
and entrepreneurs, and he made that 
happen.”
While Alan’s own legal practice 
focused on corporate organization, 
governance, acquisitions, mergers and 
divestitures, colleagues and leaders 
of the Detroit business community 
frequently sought his wise counsel on 
a variety of matters. He also advised 
dozens of Jewish leaders on how to 
handle sensitive issues and further 
Jewish causes. 
He held positions on numerous 
corporate boards that included 
Comerica, Detroit Edison, AT&T, 

ADP and Unysis. He was a founding 
trustee of the Community Foundation 
of Southeastern Michigan, director of 
the Economic Alliance for Michigan, 
vice chair of the Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra (DSO) board and past 
president and lifetime board member of 
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit. In addition, he was a longtime 
board member of the United Way, the 
Interlochen Arts Academy, the Skillman 
Foundation, Wayne State University 
and an honorary board member of the 
Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). 
“He was the most important lawyer 
in Detroit for decades,” said (Alan S.) 
Schwartz. “He and Max Fisher paved 
the way for Jewish acceptance in major 
corporations and board rooms.”
An enthusiastic booster of Detroit, 
Alan played an important role in 
helping the city rebuild after the 1968 
riots. He was an early member and 
subsequent chair of the New Detroit 
board, which honored him for his 
valuable service in 2012, Detroit 
Renaissance (now Business Leaders for 
Michigan) and the Detroit Economic 
Growth Corporation. 
While relying on his keen intellect 
and analytical skills in his professional 
life, Alan was a strong athlete who 
enjoyed a variety of sports. Horseback 
riding was a favorite family activity. He 
was a proficient skier and tennis player, 
both of which he continued into his 
80s. 
Every Saturday, he mowed the sizable 
lawn of the family’s Bloomfield Hills 
home, riding atop a commercial-
sized tractor wearing a straw hat 
and smoking a cigar. On Sunday 
afternoons, he would clear the desk in 
his basement office and spend several 
hours contemplating a variety of topics 
ranging from work to world events.
“It was his weekly reset,” said his son, 
Marc.
He was a profound thinker who also 

Alan E. Schwartz

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