DR. MAURICE CROLL, 95, of Texas, died Nov. 24, 2002. He was an ophthalmologist in Detroit and a World War II flight surgeon. Dr. Croll is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Cathy and Gary Heathcock of Texas, Linda and Albert Connor of West Bloomfield; grandchildren, Elizabeth Padoan, Melinda, Christina, Jennifer and Michael Heathcock. He was the beloved husband of the late Eva May Croll. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Children’s Hospital or Jewish National Fund. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
DANIEL HARON, 85, of Farmington Hills, died Nov. 24, 2002. He went to Northern High School, Central Michigan University and graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in accounting. Mr. Haron was a navigator during World War II and flew bombing missions over Germany. After the war, he started Haron Metals and Equipment with his late brother Percy; and they were partners for 30 years. At Percy’s retirement, Mr. Haron formed Haron Machinery with his son, Mark. Mr. Haron is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Frances and Robert Stein of West Bloomfield, Janice and Ken Kaplan of Florida; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Patti Haron of Farmington Hills; grandchildren, Brian and P’ninah Stein, Lysa and Jason Postula-Stein, Seth, Elana and Natalie Haron, Lindsay, Stacey and Jennifer Kaplan. He was the beloved husband of the late Roslyn Haron. Interment at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Haron Family Fund, American Red Magen David for Israel, 23470 Riverview Drive, Southfield, MI 48034. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
CHARLES BRONSON, 98, of Highland Park, Ill., died Dec. 26, 2002. He was a truck driver for Reliable Linen Company. Mr. Bronson is survived by his daughter-in-law, Claire Bronson; grandchildren, Michael and Jane, Daniel and Honey, Keith and Andrew Bronson; great-grandchildren, Jennifer, Benjamin and Sarah Bronson. He was the beloved husband of the late Anne Bronson; loving father of the late Judge S. Jerome Bronson and the late Judge Kenneth Bronson. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
MOLLIE GELBERG, 88, of Southfield, died Dec. 24, 2002. In her early years, she worked in her father’s bakery in Hamtramck, was a candy striper and bowled with B’nai B’rith. Mrs. Gelberg is survived by her husband of 65 years, Eddy Gelberg; daughters and sons-in-law, Marie and Gerald Berlin of Grand Rapids, Annette and Leonard Topor of Farmington Hills; grandchildren, Rachel and Rich Handloff, Deborah and Justin Kramer, Naomi and Michael Hoffman, Michael and Lauren Topor; great-grandchildren, Hannah and Sophie Handloff, Lucy Kramer; sister, Sarah Davis of Southfield. She was the dear sister of the late Al Jacobs, the late Samuel Jacobs, the late Maury Jacobs, the late Rose Mankoff and the late Goldie Morton. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Hospice of Michigan or JARC. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
MARGARET LICHTMAN, 94, of Farmington Hills, died Dec. 24, 2002. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Albert and Sondra Lichtman of Farmington Hills, Robert and Rita Lichtman of Farmington Hills, Richard and Sharon Lichtman of Sterling Heights; grandchildren, Randy and Susan Lichtman, Gary and Suzanne Lichtman, Dr. Lori Lichtman, Mark and Michelle Lichtman, Steven and Tammy Lichtman, Michael Lichtman, Annette and Tim Mulcahy, Ricky Lichtman, Angela Hensley, Kim and Wayne Champion; 19 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Lichtman was the beloved wife of the late Marton Lichtman. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Interment at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
RAISA A. DZERZHKO, 79, of Southfield, died Dec. 23, 2002. She is survived by her sons and daughter-in-law, Gregory B. and Faina Fine of Walled Lake, Valery Dzerzhko of Southfield; daughter and son-in-law, Elena and Paul Rezenkov of Russia; sister, Anna Altgovzen of Israel; grandchildren, Mikhail and Antonina Finerman, Galina and Alexander, Max and Veronica Rezenkov; two great-grandchildren. Mrs. Dzerzhko was the beloved wife of the late Vladimir Dzerzhko and the late Boris Finerman. Interment at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
CHARLOTTE FREEDMAN, 91, of Southfield, died Dec. 23, 2002. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Stanley and Marcia Freedman of Bloomfield Hills; daughters and son-in-law, Barbara and Terry Fields of Del Ray Beach, Fla., Janie Slayden of Grosse Pointe Park; grandchildren, David and Lisa Freedman, Mark and Mary Freedman, Jeffrey Freedman, Heather and Mark Adamczyk, Gillian and Kobi Copeland Barr, Heather and Ashok Bhatia Fields, Jennifer Fields; great-grandchildren, Sydney Freedman, Seth Freedman, Rachael Freedman, Lindsey Freedman, Aaron Adamczyk, Adrienne Adamczyk, Abigal Adamczyk. Mrs. Freedman was the beloved wife of the late Simeon I. Freedman. Contributions may be made to Yad Ezra, 2850 W. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 48072; American Cancer Society, 18505 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076 or to a charity of one’s choice. Services were held at Clover Hill Chapel. Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
JOHN H. GILMORE of Ann Arbor, died Dec. 29, 2002. He is survived by his wife, Grace; stepsons, Michael and Joseph Lindsay; sister, Marianne Heller of Toronto. He was the loving father of the late John Gilmore.
MOLLY GROSS, 90, of Southfield, died April 8, 2003. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Sadie and Sidney Schlass of Oak Park; nieces and nephews, Rochelle (Mickey) Kole, Michael (Janet) Lupiloff, Susan (Jeffrey) LaKritz, Dr. Richard (Ilene) Schlaff and James Schlaff. She was the beloved wife of the late Harry Gross; sister of the late Mary Lupiloff. Interment at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
OSCAR BRAUN, 87, of Southfield, died April 7, 2003. He was the owner of Oscar Braun’s Inc. Mr. Braun is survived by his son, Lawrence Braun of Southfield; daughters, Pamela Braun of Oak Park, Debra Braun of Oak Park; sister and brother-in-law, Celia and Sidney Cohn of Farmington Hills. He was the dear brother of the late Pauline Cohen. Interment at the Adat Shalom Memorial Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
DR. ALAN BURTON GRUSKIN, 65, of West Bloomfield, died April 7, 2003. He is survived by his beloved wife, Renee Gruskin of West Bloomfield; son and daughter-in-law, Glenn and Susan Gruskin of Valley Cottage, N.Y., Kenneth Skolnick of West Bloomfield, Joel and Debby Skolnick of Royal Oak; daughters and son-in-law, Karen and Temple Gruskin-Smith of Marblehead, Mass.; Carolyn Perlin of Royal Oak; grandchildren, Ellery and Adler Gruskin-Smith, Bethany and Morgan Gruskin, Lydia and Daniel Skolnick, Shane and Jared Skolnick. He was the dear brother of the late Harvey Gruskin. Interment in Springfield, Mass. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 13, 2003, at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield at 4 p.m. Contributions may be made to Children’s Hospital of Detroit, Alan Gruskin Endowment Chair, c/o Development Office/PDM, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
ESTELLE MELLEN, 94, died April 6, 2003. She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Anita Mellen of West Bloomfield; a daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Jerry Paul of New Jersey; grandchildren, Tracey (Lisa) Litt-Reddy, Laurie(Scott) Litt-Robbins and Heather (Colin) Derieg; great-grandchildren, Cassidy Derieg, Joshua and Alexandria Robbins and Zola Reddy. She was the sister of the late Naomi Blanke. Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Beaumont Hospital Hospice, c/o Home Service Corp., 1200 Stephenson Hwy., Troy, MI 48083. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman chapel.
PEARL RUCH, 85, of Berkeley, Calif., died April 6, 2003. She is survived by daughters and sons-in-law, Eleanor and Dr. Norman Moscow of Berkeley, Donna Dubrow of Los Angeles, Sandra Ruch and Jim Wolfe of Los Angeles; son and daughter-in-law, Jacob and Louise Epstein; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Emily and Matthew Epstein, Ethan Dubrow and Rowie Wolfe. She was the beloved wife of the late Harry Epstein and the late Robert Ruch; sister of the late Florence Bronstein. Interment at Adat Shalom Mem-orial Park. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
OTTO “SKIP” HELD, 72, of Southfield, died April 5, 2003. He is survived by his wife, Donna Held; sons and daughter-in-law, Steve Held of Israel, David and Katie Held of Waterford, Lee Held of Southfield; daughters and sons-in-law, Tine and Dr. Ed McGough of Florida, Helene and Robert Leider of West Bloomfield; grandchildren, Brian, Becca, Joanie. He was the beloved husband of the late Betty Held. Contributions may be made to American Heart Association, P.O. Box 71129, Berkley, MI 48072 or American Cancer Society, 18505 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076. Interment at Hebrew Memorial Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
Those who knew Belle Kersh agree that she was unflaggingly energetic and devoted to her family.
And, for most of her life, she was one “hot redhead” with charisma to burn, said daughter Marilyn Schwartz.
Mrs. Kersh, 92, a former Detroiter of Clearwater, Fla., died March 15, 2003.
Mrs. Kersh had two long and productive careers. First, she was a kindergarten teacher with the Detroit Public Schools for more than 40 years. Then, she became a director of son David Kersh’s former Metro Passbooks enterprise — involved in sales and overseeing the production and printing of the dining-entertainment coupon books sold in the United States and Canada.
Born in New York City and raised in Detroit, Mrs. Kersh finished high school early at age 14 and plunged into work. Brother Irving Steinberg remembers her job in a food market during the Depression.
“She always loved people — I never saw anything like it,” he said. “She brought the customers in.”
Mrs. Kersh graduated as a teacher from Michigan Normal College (the forerunner of Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti. During her distinguished career, she introduced innovative curricula that eventually were adopted for all Detroit kindergartners, daughter Marilyn said.
When Mrs. Kersh retired from teaching in 1972 at Detroit’s Courville Elementary School, her students were in tears, said son David.
But retiring was not her intention, as she turned her talents to Metro Passbooks.
“She was a whiz at math and could sell anything to anyone,” David said.
At 73, she founded her own business, Metro Publications, to handle production of the coupon books. She retired eight years later in 1991.
Mrs. Kersh was married 63 years to Dr. Irving Kersh, a dentist, until his death in 1998. They were Temple Israel members. She was a Hadassah group leader at one time and also belonged to Pioneer Women and B’nai B’rith Women.
As her niece Ilene Monkman explained, Mrs. Kersh was curious about everybody and everything. She loved to talk and tell stories but also “showed undivided interest in whomever she spoke to and would ask a million questions.”
Mrs. Kersh “traveled at the drop of a hat,” her niece said, and did her best to visit all of the far-flung relatives she kept in touch with. Few things gave Mrs. Kersh more pleasure than taking care of her son David’s three daughters. She frequently took the girls places and hosted sleepovers.
David said his mother was fastidious about her appearance. “Even when she was close to 90, she would not go anywhere without having her hair done,” he said. “Her clothes were always immaculate.”
Piano playing was one of Belle Kersh’s many talents. Marilyn said her mother had played at the Marriott Hotel in Clearwater as recently as six weeks ago.
She also retained her charm. Once after Marilyn had stepped away, she returned to find Mrs. Kersh, then in her 70s, “entertaining 15 guys in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel in Phoenix.” She just looked on in amazement at her charismatic mom.
Mrs. Kersh is survived by her sons, David Kersh of Hawaii, Richard Kersh of Boca Raton, Fla.; daughter, Marilyn Schwartz of Clearwater, Fla.; brother and sister-in-law, Irving and Adel Steinberg of Farmington Hills; grandchildren, Jacqueline, Jessie and Ashley Kersh.
She was the beloved wife of the late Dr. Irving Kersh and dear sister of the late Marion Phillips.
Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
