MAY 2 • 2024 | 69

FLORENCE LOVINGER OSTROW, 
102, of Farmington Hills, died April 
23, 2024. 
She is survived by her daughters 
and sons-in-law, Lindsay Lovinger 
and Bradley Williams, and Joanie 
and Robert Garvin; grandson, Joshua Garvin, 
and his fiancee, Jodi; many loving nieces, neph-
ews, great-nieces, great-nephews and a world of 
friends. 
Mrs. Ostrow was the beloved wife of the late 
William Lovinger and the late Hyman Ostrow; the 
loving sister of the late Lillian and the late Julius 
Barry, and the late Mildred and the late Marvin 
Rubenstein. 
Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. A 
memorial service will be held at a later date. 
Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s 
Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, 
TN 38105, stjude.org; Jewish Senior Life of 
Metropolitan Detroit, 6710 W
. Maple Road, West 
Bloomfield, MI 48322, jslmi.org; or ASPCA (The 
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals), P
.O. Box 96929, Washington, D.C., 
20090-6929, aspca.org. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel.

DR. PHYLLIS J. YATES, 84, of 
Farmington Hills, died April 21, 2024.
She is survived by her beloved, 
Harvey Yates; children, Beth Yates and 
David (Stephani) Yates; grandchil-
dren, Sydney Yates and Olivia Yates; 
brother and sister-in-law, Howard and Donna 
Plotkin; many other loving family members and 
friends.
She was the dearest daughter of the late William 
and Lila Plotkin. 
Interment was held at Machpelah Cemetery 
in Ferndale. Contributions can be made to 
the Alzheimer’s Association. Arrangements by 
Dorfman Chapel. 

W

illiam “Bill” Sandy, 94, of 
Longboat Key, Fla., and 
Bloomfield Hills, passed 
away peacefully at his Longboat Key 
home on April 23, 2024, from leuke-
mia/lymphoma. 
Bill led an amazing, 
exuberant, fully authentic 
life as a writer, business 
executive, entrepreneur, 
small-town mayor and 
philanthropist. 
He was raised in 
Baltimore, Md. Bill’s col-
lege fraternity brother encouraged 
him to come to Detroit in 1953 to join 
the booming automotive industry, He 
landed a writer job at the Jam Handy 
Company, the Detroit-based innova-
tive sales training organization. Bill’s 
astute observations and relationship 
skills caught founder Jam Handy’s 
attention, and Bill became the account 
executive for Chevrolet and other 
GM clients, serving as a speechwriter, 
coach and informal adviser to auto-
motive industry leaders. 
When Handy retired, he supported 
Bill’s desire to start his own company, 
the Bill Sandy Company, later named 
Sandy Corporation. The company, 
founded in 1971, provided sales train-
ing, distance learning and other ser-
vices to clients around the world and 
became a public company in 1986. 
The company was sold to ADP in 
1996 upon Bill’s retirement.
While Bill’s business success was 
important to him, he always felt his 
highest achievement was his family. 
He fell in love with Marjorie Mazor, a 
quiet, shy, beautiful freshman on the 
high school paper he edited. Bill and 
Marge married in 1952, and they have 
been inseparable ever since. With 
three children, nine grandchildren, 
and seven great-grandchildren, Bill 
and Margie treasured and prioritized 
their family, hosting annual family 
reunions, memorable cruises across 
the world and many other fun and 

love-filled adventures. 
To Bill, “family was everything; 
“all were welcome, all were includ-
ed.” Along the way, Bill served as 
mayor of Bloomfield Hills, attended 
Harvard Business School and served 
on governing/advisory boards at the 
Cranbrook Institute of Science, Asolo 
Repertory Theater, Harvard Business 
School, Oakland University and the 
University of Michigan’s Institute for 
the Humanities, among many oth-
ers; he established the Sandy Family 
Foundation to support myriad chari-
table endeavors.
Bill published two books, Solving 
the Productivity Paradox and Learning 
from Upheaval; the latter shared 
personal and business lessons from 
his life with his grandchildren. In it, 
he wrote: “With all of life’s stumbles 
and challenges, I was lucky enough 
to get the big things right.” Bill was 
the patriarch of the extended family, 
always open to listening, reflecting 
and offering perspective. He was gen-
erous with his time, his attention, his 
affection and with his good fortune. 
He was welcoming of differences, dia-
logue, alternatives. He was loving: He 
loved Margie, his family, his friends, 
his journey.
Bill was preceded in death by sister, 
Ferle Cantor, grandson, Jacob Sandy; 
and daughter-in-law, Kathy Sandy. 
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie 
“Margie” Sandy; children, Alan (Lisa 
Ericksen), Lewis (Sue Hassmiller) and 
Barbara (Matt Golub); grandchildren, 
Matt, Natalie, Dove, Charlotte, Paul, 
Noah, Sam, and Ari; and their spous-
es, Chrissy, Steve, Lizelle and Matt; 
great-grandchildren, Abigail, William, 
Charlie, Caroline, Elijah, Felicity and 
Macario.
Interment was at Beth El Memorial 
Park. Contributions may be made to 
Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 N. 
Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243, 
asolorep.org. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

Businessman, Writer, 
Mayor and Patriarch

William 
Sandy

OBITUARY CHARGES

The processing fee for obituaries is: $125 for up to 
100 words; $1 per word thereafter. A photo counts as 
15 words. There is no charge for a Holocaust survivor 
icon.
The JN reserves the right to edit wording to 
conform to its style considerations. For information, 
have your funeral director call the JN or you may call 
Sy Manello, editorial assistant, at (248) 351-5147 or 
email him at smanello@thejewishnews.com.

