Upcoming Services
| Susan Rice | Pending | |
| Adam Fraiberg |
Thu May 9th at 9:00 Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Florida |
FUNERAL DETAILS
Robert Cutler
Robert Cutler, 93, of Southfield, Michigan, died on 02 May 2020. The Funeral was A PRIVATE FAMILY GRAVESIDE SERVICE on Monday, 04 May 2020 at 2:00 PM . Rabbi Michael Moskowitz officiated. Click  to watch a video of the recorded service.Family members include: Beloved husband of the late Jean Cutler. Cherished father of Ardith Cutler and Jodi (Kip Foley) Cutler. Also survived by Jean's children, Mark (Barbara Maxwell) Dubrinsky, Susan (Tim) Mcallister, and Shari (Larry) Friedman. Loving grandfather of Tara (Danielle) Inman-Bellofatto, Alyssa Bellofatto, Miranda Markart, Ben Foley, Sam Foley, Shawn Dubrinsky, Shaynna Dubrinsky, David Mcallister, and Daniel Mcallister. Proud great-grandfather of Jace Martinez-Bellofatto. Born February 23, 1927 to Muriel Borman and Lawrence Cutler, Bob was a beloved only child who grew up in New York City. He fondly remembered assisting in his dad’s pharmacy growing up, learning the lesson of kindness and community where his dad assisted everyone, regardless of his customer’s ability to pay. A lesson in kindness repaid when their customers stood guard protecting the shop during race riots. The Depression left Bob sleeping on a couch rather than a bed, a preference that stayed with him through the end. With the aid of the GI Bill, Bob completed his college classes as graduate of New York University’s School of Engineering and did graduate work at Columbia University. Bob was an engineer through and through. This was evidenced in his punctuality, and keen problem-solving, planning, and organizational skills, that took him through careers in aerospace (helping to configure the interior functional space for astronauts inside Gemini and Apollo spacecrafts) and being one of the first efficiency engineers in hospital management, dictating where resources and spaces should be allocated to make hospitals more efficient. There is no one’s opinion in that process he respected more than that of nurses. At 23, Bob met Carol, his first wife (of 26 years) on a blind date (the first of 19 dates in 14 days) while on leave, as an Army’s national rifle team as a sharpshooter. He asked her to marry via mail and they were married on his next leave. His time in the armed services had many facets including the Army, Army Air Corps, and Air Force. Bob served in both WWII and the Korean War and finished service as a Lieutenant. Bob was stationed in Panama, doing photocartographic work exploring the creation of a second canal. Operating out of Andrews Air Force Base, Bob created and managed the system by which several hundred aircraft and aircraft carriers around the globe reported their locations and losses, were compiled and then evaluated for military maneuvers. It is believed that his system is still in use. Bob and Carol moved from New York to Philadelphia to work for General Electric in 1957. In 1961, they adopted their first daughter, Ardith, followed two years and nine months later by daughter, Jodi. Bob treasured his daughters and enjoyed his time with them. He enjoyed collecting coins, and building scale models, including the spaceships he worked on, trains and remote-controlled planes and racecars. His basement was a tribute to his passions, including the ArJo Raceway, honoring his daughters’ names, ping pong and darts, and all his crafts. He loved history and being able to share the wonderful history of the Philadelphia area with his girls, including many days at Valley Forge. During the ‘70s, Bob transitioned his skills from aerospace to hospital efficiency/management engineering, starting with Rochester General Hospital in New York then back to Philadelphia at St. Agnes Hospital. In 1982, shortly after he moved to Michigan, Bob found love with Jean and his family grew to add Jean’s loving adult children, Susan, Mark and Shari and their families. He loved spending time with them and his grandchildren. In his retirement, Bob was active as treasurer in his condo board association, and on the Novi Library Board, overseeing a major renovation which has won accolades. Bob was always crafting: making doll houses and horse barns for family and friends, making scale models, and in later years focusing on detailed needlepoint, all attesting to his detail-oriented nature. He loved collecting coins and the Franklin Mint, building and flying remote controlled airplanes, building villages and tracks for model trains and even fashioned a model car tract that he named, the ArJo raceway, after his daughters (Ardi and Jodi). His basement was his haven, with all his scale models, crafting, ping pong tables, and darts. He was kind, with an easy smile, and loved walking and was walking over a mile each day before being placed on lockdown in his senior living complex due to the pandemic. Bob took exceptional interest and pride in the accomplishments of all of his grandchildren, even when distance kept them from seeing each other in person. He was active almost until the end. In February, Bob helped coordinate a system for categorizing and organizing the books in his facility’s library. Bob’s death was hastened by COVID-19 but he had his wish of staying out of the hospital fulfilled by passing peacefully at home. Metro Detroit’s Jewish funeral homes have agreed that families should follow the directive of Centers for Disease Control and restrict the size of gatherings to no more than 10, for at least the month of April.
Condolence acknowledgements may be mailed to: American Heart AssociationClick to Visit Charity Website |