Upcoming Services
| Marge Samson |
Sun May 5th at 1:30 IRA KAUFMAN CHAPEL | |
| Edward Grant |
Fri Apr 19th at 3:00 GRAVESIDE |
FUNERAL DETAILS
Henryk Fast
Henryk Fast, 96, of Poland, died on 14 March 2022. The Funeral was held at Graveside at Machpelah Cemetery, 21701 Woodward Ave, Ferndale MI 48220 on Friday, 06 May 2022 at 12:00 PM . Rabbi Jennifer Lader officiated. Click  to watch a video of the recorded service.Interment at Machpelah Cemetery.
“The” Henryk Fast decided it was time to move on to his next adventure and peacefully passed on March 14, 2022 at the forever youthful age of 96.5. Ever the comedic mathematician, it is likely not a coincidence that Henryk decided “Pi” Day, 3/14, was the perfect day to have the last laugh. Henryk was born in Bochnia, Poland on October 4, 1925. At the age of 11, the upheaval from the Second World War took him and his widowed mother to work camps in Siberia where they survived under unimaginable conditions. There he faced hardships requiring incredible endurance - physical, mental, and emotional - as they faced near starvation, ridicule, and the freezing temperatures of the cold winters in Siberia. Here Henryk found escape by entering a world of fantasy, reliving books he had read, and shaping what would be his perpetual optimism and lifelong appetite for knowledge. Among his fellow refugees, he found an engineer, a scientist, and a mathematician that shaped his destiny to become a mathematician. Henryk studied mathematics at Yakutsk University in the USSR and the University of Wroc?aw in Poland. He earned his doctoral degree at the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He held faculty positions at the University of Wroc?aw, Notre Dame University in Indiana, and Wayne State University in Detroit. Henryk was also a member of the American Mathematical Society and has had numerous mathematical papers published in the Real Analysis Exchange, The Scottish Book, Colloquium Mathematicum, Revue Roumaine De Mathématiques Pures Et Appliquées, Mathematisch Centrum, Norte Dame Journal of Formal Logic, Fundamenta Mathematicae, The Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, and Studia Mathematica. Aside from his academic life, Henryk was a true Renaissance man and an artist at heart. He was an accomplished author publishing four books - two autobiographical, one of short stories, and one of limericks. He was also a skilled sketch artist, painter, and sculptor. He enjoyed experimenting in different artistic mediums and was even the subject of a documentary “The Love Equation of Henryk Fast” which was presented at film festivals throughout Europe. Henryk was a hopeless romantic on an eternal quest to find love. His friends cheekily put him among the ranks of Cassanova and Don Juan! He enjoyed a robust social life and was one of the first members of Dancing Intergenerational Social Organization in Warsaw. Henryk’s perpetual optimism and zest for life kept him eternally youthful. He loved living life and made the most of each and every day! The unique, the one and only, “The” Henryk Fast. May we all learn to share in his positive outlook! Henryk is survived by his children: Monica Fast, Simon (Rachel) Fast, Sheila (Jason) Tucker, and Jessica (Timothy) Fast. Henryk also leaves the legacy of six grandchildren: Carter Fast, Audrey Fast, Jacob Tucker, Lindiwe Capozzi, Josephine Capozzi, and Donovan Capozzi. He is predeceased by his beloved mother Rena (Stiels) and his father Leon. It is suggested that those who wish to further honor the memory of Henryk Fast may do so by making a contribution to: Pets For The ElderlyClick to Visit Charity Website |