Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

70 | JUNE 20 • 2024 
J
N

The JN’s Resident 
Wordsmith
I

’m writing a sequel to my last Looking Back, when I wrote about 
my good friend, Sharon Alterman, one of this year’s Jewish Senior 
Life’s (JSL) esteemed “8 over Eighty.
” At the JN, we work with 
another great “8”: Sy Manello. Sy is one of the good guys in this world 
and an amazing colleague. He is the JN’s premier wordsmith, our 
resident master of vocabulary, our “Sultan of Sagacity.
” 
(I’ve been waiting to use that 
latter moniker for him. I’m sure I’ll 
hear about this!)
It is an understatement to say 
that Sy is invaluable at the JN. 
Moreover, he is just a lot of fun to 
work with.
Seymour “Sy” Manello was born 
to Polish immigrants in Youngstown, 
Ohio, and was raised in a deeply 
religious Jewish family. When Sy was 14, his mother 
moved the family to Detroit after his rabbi father 
passed away.
Sy developed a love for the theater and 
the 
the English language while in high school … and somewhere along the way, acquired a superb sense of 
humor. After graduation, Sy earned a B.A. in English and public speaking at the University of 
Michigan (no wonder he’s always lecturing me about grammar!). Upon graduation, Sy spent 
30 years teaching English and drama at Cody High School in Detroit. Thirty-six years ago, he 
began a second career, one that is still ongoing: Sy joined the JN as a proofreader. 
Sy is now our senior editorial assistant. Of course, after such a long career teaching, he did 
cut back a little bit on his workload. Now, he only processes all lifecycle items for the JN such 
as personal announcements for births, bar/bat mitzvahs, engagements and weddings. Sy also 
handles the sad but vital job of posting obituaries and organizes the JN’s “On the Go Section: 
People, Places and Events.
” 
Just for icing on the cake, he has written “Torah portions,
” or my personal favorite, articles 
regarding the launch of William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit history (not that 
I have a bias toward the Archive or anything). Most of all, Sy has entertained JN readers for 
years with his humorous word-play columns. Over 2,600 pages in the Davidson Archive provide 
testimony to his many JN contributions. Yes, he’s really slowed his pace.
A great contributor to Jewish Detroit, Sy is an active community volunteer. He was on the board of B’nai Israel Synagogue in West 
Bloomfield. He also helped at Yad Ezra, reads books to senior citizens for JSL, and has taught Hebrew to fellow congregants, to cite a few 
examples.
Sy has been married to Pearl for 63 years. They have two children and four grandchildren, all of whom they adore.
At the JN, we all agree that Sy is one special person. On his 31st anniversary at the newspaper, Editorial Director Jackie Headapohl 
summed up Sy’s work: “You couldn’t ask for a better team member than Sy. He’s a treasure and we’re lucky to have him.
” 
JN Contributing Editor Keri Guten Cohen restated what we all know: “Simply put, Sy Manello is amazing.
” 
I see that I made an understatement in this column. I said that Sy was one of the good guys in this world. I should have said — “Sy is a 
mensch of the highest order.
” We are indeed lucky at the JN. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

