96 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
I
n the final days of her life,
Barbara Nusbaum asked her
grandson Zachary to grab
a notebook so he could write
down all the things she wanted
him to know before she could no
longer say them.
“What she revealed to me is
something that is obvious to
all of us. She truly had a heart
of gold,
” Zachary said at his
grandmother’s funeral service.
“She told me how sorry she feels
inside, that there are some peo-
ple in the world who have to go
through life without knowing
what love is, because everybody
is deserving of love. This is the
idea that guided my grandma’s
entire life.
”
Barbara Nusbaum, 88, of
Franklin, died after sunset on
Aug. 29, 2023.
Born in Detroit on Aug. 9,
1935, Barbara was the beloved
eldest child of the late Mary and
late Donald Samuels. To her
only sibling, Gerrie, Barbara was
a protective, supportive older
sister.
Barbara attended Detroit’s
Central High School and
received a degree in social work
from Wayne State University.
Although she never actually
used the degree on a professional
level, she used it in her everyday
life as the ultimate voluntary
social worker at-large, selflessly
providing advice and support to
anyone and everyone.
Barbara met Irving Nusbaum
on a blind date, and it did not
take long for them to know they
were a match made in heaven.
The couple married a year later
and went on to enjoy 60+ years
of loving and devoted marriage
until Irving’s death in November
2018. They had two sons, Arthur
and Robert.
Their parents complemented
each other perfectly, Arthur and
Robert said. Barbara served as
the “quintessential, traditional
helpmate and homemaker,
”
freeing Irving, the president and
public face of New York Carpet
World, to scale the heights of
business success.
“She enabled my dad, who
was working 12 hours a day
when we were kids, to become
extraordinarily successful —
always encouraging him and
always by his side,
”
Robert said.
Each enabled
the other to do an
enormous amount
of good, becoming
a longtime phil-
anthropic team of
legend.
“When they
became involved in
philanthropy, they
both together and
individually achieved so much
good for so many people and
organizations,
” Robert added.
“Not just by financial support,
but by putting in the time and
effort to get things done. They
truly led by example.
”
As well as their generous finan-
cial contributions, the Nusbaums
gave of their time, supporting
local leaders with their wisdom
and willingness to help.
In the 1970s, the Nusbaums
got involved in assisting Jewish
Family Service (JFS) with the
resettlement of Jewish refugees
from the former Soviet Union.
Many refugees immigrated to
the United States, many of those
to Detroit.
Barbara was on the front lines
of the effort. Because of her
nurturing disposition, Barbara
became close friends with many
of the families she helped settle.
For Jewish holiday dinners, there
was a large Russian contingency
for decades at the Nusbaum
house. The Nusbaums also led
the charge in buying bicycles
for all of the refugee children to
make them feel more at home.
Another organization Barbara
got involved in very early on
was JARC. She was involved for
decades, and ultimately became
president. Both the Mary and
Donald Samuels home, named
in honor of Barbara’s parents,
and the Nusbaum Family Home,
the nation’s first
barrier-free, green
group home for
adults with develop-
mental disabilities,
bear the Nusbaum
legacy.
The Nusbaums
were benefactors for
many other organi-
zations, including
Yad Ezra, Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah, the
Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy
Network and the Zekelman
Holocaust Center. They were
active members of Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses (now Beth Ahm),
where they had a great impact
over the course of decades.
Where Barbara really shined,
though, was on an individual
basis.
“If there were a family or
person in need of any help —
whether it be financial, emo-
tional, advisory, etc. — and you
were lucky enough to be led to
my mother, your prayers would
always be answered,
” Robert
said. “She would either help you
directly or guide you to a source
that would. She didn’t do it for
the fanfare. She just did it.
”
Along with the proverbial
heart of gold, Barbara was literal-
ly the recipient of United Way of
Southeastern Michigan’s Heart of
Gold Award, which honors vol-
unteerism and community work.
“She was purely good,
” Robert
said. “Her whole existence was
for helping other people, and
family.
”
It was indeed family at the
core of Barbara’s love and devo-
tion.
“
As a mother, she was simply
the best,
” Robert said. “She was
protective, possibly to a fault,
when we were kids. But in all her
roles as mother, grandmother,
wife, sister, sister-in-law, aunt or
friend, she was the go-to person
for advice, consolation or plain
meaningful conversation.
”
To Barbara and Irving, their
grandchildren were the light of
their lives. The adoration was
mutual, with the grandchildren
being a constant fixture in their
home, having sleepovers and
Shabbat dinners all the while
soaking in their love, knowledge
and wisdom.
Barbara Nusbaum was the
beloved wife of 61 years of the
late Irving Nusbaum. Cherished
mother of Arthur (Laurie
Cowell) Nusbaum and Robert
(Lori) Nusbaum. Proud grand-
mother of Caleb, Haley, Zachary,
Jonathan and Bradley Nusbaum.
Loving sister of Gerrie (Harold)
Kalt. Dear sister-in-law of
Frances Fetter. Devoted daugh-
ter of the late Mary and the late
Donald Samuels and daughter-
in-law of the late Laura and the
late Abraham Nusbaum. Also
survived by Irene Zvonova, her
devoted caregivers, Tore, Sierra,
Evelyn, Jaimi and Rachel, and
many loving nieces, nephews
and a world of friends.
Interment was at Beth
Abraham Cemetery. It is sug-
gested that those who wish to
further honor the memory of
Barbara Nusbaum may do so by
making a contribution to JARC,
Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy
Network, JFS or a charity of one’s
choice.
A Heart of Gold
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Barbara Nusbaum
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY