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GEORGE BERNS, 92, of West Palm Beach, Fla., died Aug. 6, 2000. He was the owner of Youth Fashions in Mt. Clemens. He is survived by his daughter, Nancy Benson of Los Angeles; stepson and his wife, Jerome and Rosalind Sipher; granddaughter, Shannon Chaiken. He was the beloved husband of the late Dorothy Weiner Berns and the late Dorothy Sipher Berns. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Jewish Association for Residential Care. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
SYLVIA "SAPH" HELFGOTT COHEN, 64, of Leesburg, Fla., died Aug. 4, 2000. She was the aide to the provost for Montgomery College in Rockville, Md., for 14 years. Two years ago, she and her husband Leo retired to Leesburg, where she became an independent consultant with the Florida Newcomers Club. She is survived by her beloved husband, Leo; sons and daughter-in-law, Jeffrey and Dede Gale of Westlake, Ohio; daughter, Lisa Williams of Laurel, Md.; grandchildren, Ashley and Amanda Gale and Taylor Williams; sister and brother-in-law, Lue and Irv Maggin of Leesburg. She was the beloved daughter of the late Al and Til Helfgott of Southfield and Tamarac, Fla. Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.
BERNARD FRIEDRICH, 65, formerly of Detroit and Atlanta of Delray Beach, Fla., died July 23, 2000. He belonged to Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte of Delray Beach; sons and daughters-in-law, Ryan and Jo-Ann Friedrich, Bruce and Fran Friedrich, all of Marietta, Ga.; son, Darrin Friedrich and Robin Maranz of Atlanta; daughter Lisa Friedrich and Pete Mackin of Atlanta; sister, Lillian Pitt of Marietta; father-in-law, Harry Lieberman of Atlanta; grandchildren, Jessica, Kevin, Lindsay and Matthew Friedrich; Arrangements by Jewish Funeral Care, Couth Care Memorial Chapel.
TRUDY DANZIG, 67, of Huntington Woods, died Oct. 23, 2000. She was an interior decorator. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Michael and Karen Danzig, Jeffrey and Wendy Danzig of Huntington Woods; daughter and son-in-law, Cheryl and Mark Rubinstein of Bloomfield Hills; grandchildren, Brittany and Jayme Danzig, Lauren and Robbie Linden, Danielle Danzig; brother and sister-in-law, Benjamin and Fiona Frankel of Hong Kong; sister, Esther Farber of N.Y., died Oct. 21, 2000. He is survived by his parents, Charles and Sandra Licht of Knoxville, Tenn.; brothers David Licht of Bergenfield, N.J., Robert Licht of Charlotte, N.C. Graveside services were held in Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery, Greensboro, N.C. Contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 434 Fayetteville St. Mall, 2 Hannover Square, Suite 100, Raleigh, Florida; brother and sister-in-law, Jesse and Florence Rice of West Bloomfield; grandchildren, Ken and Debbie Reisman, Susan and Howard Simpson, Judy Mandelbaum, Dawn and Phil Cooper, Andrew and Barbara Feldman, Mark and Toni Feldman, Julie and Dave Fishman, Laurie and Jeff Weisman, Dr. Steven Young; great-grandchildren, Bree, Jeremy, Shannon, Lauren, Megan, Steven, Sam, Nichole, Eric, Mark, Alan, Stephanie, Michael, Jason. Mrs. Sommers was the beloved wife of the late Hyman Bailies, the late Harry Sommers. Contributions may be made to Michigan football game in 1965.
"I can't begin to describe how his loss affected the family," said son Bobby Morris, who said his parents began looking for something appropriate to do for the community in memory of his brother. "They became enamored with the Oak Park Center."
Mort Plotnick, former executive director of the JCC, said, "Lester and Jewell were there for many programs and had a great emotional commitment to the facility. They would walk into that building and they'd be smiling and talking to people, enjoying every minute of it."
A few weeks ago, said daughter Patti Phillips, "He attended the 'Apples and Honey' event there, saw the number of people who came and saw the need for an auditorium. He wanted the [JPM] Center to have a proper place to have entertainment." Prior to his death, Mr. Morris had begun discussions for funding the project.
Plotnick described Mr. Morris as "a guy who always had a wonderful smile on his face and a great twinkle in his eye. He was very concerned about what was happening with people. He had a good global view of what his responsibilities were to Jewish life."
Mr. Morris devoted much effort to helping individuals he would hear of or read about in the newspaper. He contributed to a Jewish Family Service fund for the recently orphaned Michalson brothers, for instance, and frequently visited with the late Temple Beth El Rabbi Richard Hertz, seeking to lift his spirits during his final illness.
"He was a one-man mitzvah machine," pronounced Rabbi Daniel Syme of Temple Beth El.
Mr. Morris also served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations, including Temple Beth El, Sinai Hospital, Jewish Home and Aging Services, Jewish Apartments and Services and the N.Y. As told to Rabbi Syme, "It was electric; it was love at first sight" when Mr. Morris met Jewell Prentis, daughter of then General Motors treasurer Meyer L. Prentis and his wife, Anna. Just six weeks later, the Morrises were wed, "and thus began a beautiful marriage that extended for 54 years, always in mutual dedication and devotion," said Rabbi Syme.
Moving to Detroit for their 1946 wedding, Mr. Morris opened his dealership a couple of years later. "Morris is the guy, Buick is the buy," went the advertising slogan. He was well loved by his loyal employees, whom he treated kindly, said his daughter.
Mr. Morris doted on his two granddaughters, sharing with them his love of fishing, tennis and golf. Steve Gretchko, associate director of finance for Federation, said, "He treated everybody like he treated his grandchildren, in the sense of always wanting to help people. He was very interested in helping the community for the greater good." In recent years, Mr. Morris would visit Federation several times a week, helping out with fund-raising and assistance efforts.
Mr. Morris is survived by his wife, Jewell Prentis Morris; daughter and son-in-law Patrice and Dr. Eric Phillips of West Bloomfield; son Robert Prentis Morris and his good friend JoAnn Ross of Aspen, N.Y.
Mr. Morris was the loving father of the late Jimmy Prentis Morris.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Jimmy Prentis Morris Memorial Fund at the Jewish Community Center, 15110 W. 10 Mile Road, Oak Park, MI 48237. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
FRIEDA DREXLER, 84, of Southfield, died Oct. 20, 2000. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Maxine and Harvey Gold of West Bloomfield, Adrianne and Dr. Harvey Goldstone of Texas, died Oct. 20, 2000. She was a member of B'nai Israel Synagogue in California; numerous loving nieces, nephews; other relatives and friends. She was the beloved wife of the late Louis I. Shaer; dear sister of the late Albert Marks, the late Dr. Ben Marks and the late Paul Marks. Internment at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be directed to a charity of one's choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
SIDNEY DWORKIN, Revco Founder:
Entrepreneur and Revco drug store chain pioneer Sidney Dworkin died Oct. 17, 2000 of complications from cancer. He was 79.
Mr. Dworkin, a Detroit native, along with pharmacist Bernie Shulman, Arthur Kellman and Isadore Berger, founded Regal drug stores in 1956 with four Detroit stores. In 1961, the company acquired the 41-store Standard drug chain in Cleveland and changed its name to Revco (Registered Vitamin Co.).
Over the next 30 years under Mr. Dworkin's leadership, Revco became the world's largest drug store chain, with over 2,200 locations in 30 states and sales exceeding $2 billion.
In the early years there were many challenges to overcome. Mr. Dworkin earned the confidence of Detroit's William Davidson along with his associates at Kerr Drug Co. Kerr provided the supply line for Revco when other companies did not want to take the risk with a fast-growing company selling products at a discount. Mr. Dworkin never forgot where he came from and would help many other companies get started by featuring their products in Revco stores.
In the early 1970s, Mr. Dworkin moved his family to Cleveland, where Revco was headquartered. Southfield Mayor Norman Feder declared March 11, 1972, "Sidney Dworkin Day" to mark the opening of the 300th Revco store on Telegraph Road. In 1987, Mr. Dworkin retired. Revco later became part of the CVS drug chain.
A graduate of Central High School and Wayne State University, Mr. Dworkin served in the army during World War II. WSU recognized his accomplishments by giving him a corporate leadership award in 1985. He also received the Scopus Award from Hebrew University, establishing the Dworkin Family Chair.
Mr. Dworkin was a past president of the Couples Club at Temple Israel, past chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, board member of the Cleveland Baseball Federation and many other community organizations.
Mr. Dworkin was the husband of Doris Dwokin; father of Marc (Patricia) and Elliot "Bud" (Judy) Dworkin; grandfather of Bradley and Robbie; brother of Eileene Berke, Dr. Leo (Alva) Dworkin and the late Cantor Harold Dworkin.
Interment was in Boca Raton, Fla. Contributions may be made to the Leonard N. Simons Detroit Jewish Community Archives, PO Box 250250, West Bloomfield, MI 48325.
ROBERT ETHAN BREINER, 42, former Detroiter of Scarborough, Michigan University. He worked as a radio executive and was in partnership with Martz Communications. Mr. Breiner was active in many community endeavors in Scarborough, including coaching little league and helping fund raising for Ronald McDonald House, the Center for Grieving Children and Motts Children Hospital of Ann Arbor. He also led many food drives for Habitat for the Homeless. He is survived by his wife, Debra Glassford Breiner; sons, Andrew and Daniel of Scarborough; parents, Dr. Sander J. and Bea Oboler Briener of Bloomfield Hills; sister, Linda Breiner Millstein of Larchmont, Maine.
GAIL PARRISH, 51, of West Bloomfield, died Oct. 17, 2000. For 16 years, she was the vice president of planning at St. John Health System. She was also a member of Temple Israel. Mrs. Parrish is survived by her husband, Robert Parrish; daughters, Kristen, Diana and Stephanie Parrish; stepmother, Dorothy Hirschbein; brother and sister-in-law, Bernard Hirschbein and Wendy Baschkopf of San Francisco; stepsisters and stepbrothers, Barbara and David Weiss, Norman and Diane Lynn; mother-in-law, Madelene Parrish; sister-in-law, Judith Parrish. Mrs. Parrish was the loving daughter of the late Robert Hirschbein and the late Della Hirschbein; dear daughter-in-law of the late George Parrish. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park. Contributions may be directed to the Josephine Ford Cancer Center, Hermelin Brain Tumor Center, 1 Fords Place, Detroit, MI 48202-3450 Attn: Philanthropy or U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mott Trailer, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Attn: Anita Goldstein. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
JUDITH PEISS, 56, formerly of Oak Park and Southfield, of San Diego, died Oct. 17, 2000. She graduated from Michigan, 21617 Harper, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
