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FUNERAL DETAILS


 

Mandell "Bill" Berman



Mandell "Bill" Berman, 99, of Franklin, Michigan, died on 21 December 2016.

The Funeral was held at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell, Southfield MI 48034 on Tuesday, 27 December 2016 at 11:00 AM .

Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen, Cantor Neil Michaels, Asst. Cantor Leonard Gutman officiated.

Click to watch a video of the recorded service.

Interment at Clover Hill Park Cemetery.

Click for Directions for Cemetery


The family of Mandell "Bill" Berman will be gathering through the evening of Thursday, December 29 at the residence, 30542 Hickory Lane, Franklin MI 48025.

The family will be gathering on Tuesday following interment through 8:00 p.m. and on Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Religious Services will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Click for Directions to Shiva


Mandell "Bill" Berman, a leader in the American housing industry and a well- known philanthropist, passed away on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at the age of 99. Dedicated to his family, work and community service, the Franklin resident showed tremendous energy and vitality until his final days.

Bill Berman was born in Detroit in 1917 and graduated with high distinction from Detroit's Central High School. He earned his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1940 and his MBA in 1942 from Harvard Business School, then served his country in the Pacific during WWII as an officer in the United States Navy.

Returning home after the war, Berman partnered with his brother in law to form the Bert L. Smokler & Company, a real estate development and building enterprise which constructed houses and apartment complexes across the Midwest from the late 1940's to the late 1970's. Later he served on the boards of the Dreyfus Corporation (now a BNYMellon subsidiary) and Guardian Industries. He also served as chairman of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and as president of the Southeastern Michigan Builders Association.

A national leader in the Jewish community, he was a past president of the Council of Jewish Federations of North America, a cofounder of the Jewish Education Service of North America, a board member of the Jewish Agency and of the American Joint Distribution Committee. He also funded fellowships at Brandeis University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He established the Fund for Research on Children with Disabilities at the Myers-JDC-Brooksdale Institute in Israel and chaired the 1990 and 2002 landmark Jewish Population Studies in North America. To further the study of the Jewish Community of North America he was the founder of the Berman Jewish DataBank, now at the Jewish Federations of North America, and of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, now at Stanford University.

Bill Berman was a major figure in the Detroit Jewish community: He was a past president and chair of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, a founder of United Hebrew Schools and a board member of Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Thanks to his generosity, the Hillel at the University of Michigan is named for him. Combining his love of theater and Jewish education, he founded the Berman Theatre at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, Mich, and the Berman Center for Jewish Education at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 2014.

But Berman's interests and honors also extended far beyond the Jewish community: He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Wayne State University at the age of 94, and he was made a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2013. He sat on the boards of the Michigan Humane Society, the Detroit Zoological Society, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre, and he was the first chairman of Detroit's Skillman Foundation. Many other local institutions, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the College for Creative Studies, Wayne State University, American Promise Schools, Beaumont and Ford Hospitals, Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners benefited greatly from his interest and generosity.

A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Bill Berman leaves behind his wife of 66 years, Madeleine "Madge" Berman, his children Ann Berman Feld (Dan Feld) and Dr. Jon (Nicky) Berman, and three grandchildren, Laurence Freedman, Sara Feld and Max Berman.

It is suggested that those who wish to further honor the memory of Mandell "Bill" Berman may do so by making a contribution to:

Congregation Shaarey Zedek
The Berman Center for Jewish Education
27375 Bell Road
Southfield, MI 48034
248-357-5544
https://shaareyzedek.shulcloud.com/payment.php
Click to Visit Charity Website

or
The Berman Center For The Performing Arts
The Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit
6600 W Maple Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
(248) 661-1900
http://theberman.org/home/fob/
Click to Visit Charity Website