Jewish Senior Life’s 2025 Eight Over Eighty Gala Honors 8 Remarkable Detroiters

Jewish Senior Life honors doers and difference makers in its 32nd Eight Over Eighty event.

There’s a lot to look back on for an individual whose life spans eight decades. When they continue to focus forward, actively giving back, doing good and making a difference in their communities, their efforts are worthy of admiration and a loud round of applause. Which is what eight exceptional local men and women will receive on Sunday, May 18, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek when they are celebrated at Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit’s 32nd Annual Eight Over Eighty fundraising event.

“Every year, I am in awe of the extraordinary members of the Jewish community in our midst who have built businesses, raised families and dedicated themselves to tikkun olam throughout their lives,” said Nancy Siegel Heinrich, CEO of Jewish Senior Life. “We owe them our gratitude and they deserve to be recognized for their selfless efforts and generosity.”

As always, the Eight Over Eighty honorees have been paired with a high school student from the Sam and Jean Frankel Jewish Academy who will share their experiences with them at the gala luncheon. The students and honorees have spent quality time together, listening and learning from one another.

The FJA students participating this year are Zoe Kellman, Louis Kowalsky, Zeev Maine, Sydney Michaelson, Paige Murav-Radner, Ryan Reinstein, Mia Schlussel and Jessica Tracht. Event proceeds benefit the JSL Quality of Life Fund.

The 2025 Eight over Eighty Honorees still living the Chai life include

DEEDE AUSTER

Volunteering for a wide range of nonprofit organizations in Metro Detroit has been a passion and integral part of Deede Auster’s life throughout her marriage, her successful career in the healthcare industry and in retirement.

Prior to the Affordable Care Act, she was part of a team of volunteers that secured medication for patients in need from area pharmacies as part of Detroit Project Chesed. Auster serves on the executive board at the Jewish Historical Society as recording secretary, participating in meaningful programs such as Into The Neighborhood, which highlighted the rich history of Hastings Street. She is also a member of National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan, playing an integral role annually at Bookstock overseeing hundreds of volunteers and organizing book distribution, as well as other NCJW/MI initiatives like its annual backpack project and Back to School Store.  

A courageous cancer survivor, Auster is a member of the Cancer Thrivers Network and became inspired to volunteer at Hospice of Michigan after her mother received hospice care for almost a year. The mother of three adult children is an active member at Congregation Beth Ahm where she and her husband, Miles, are Minyan volunteers. Her community service activities also include volunteering at JARC, at the gift shop at Jewish Senior Life’s Fleischman Residence and with the Meals on Wheels program.

NANCY JACOBSON

Nancy Jacobson personifies what it means to be a pillar of philanthropy. Her commitment to the Jewish community at home and abroad spans 50 years and is rooted in her profound love of family and Judaism. The Michigan State graduate and former high school teacher never forgot the antisemitism she and her family faced while growing up, which served to strengthen her faith, fortitude and commitment to Jewish causes.

Jacobson served as a vice president on the board of JARC and in other capacities and played an influential role in helping to transform the nonprofit into a thriving community hub for the individuals served.

She chaired the Michigan Region of the Weizmann Institute of Science and participated in the creation of the Lion of Judah Society in Detroit, raising record funds after Sept. 11, 2001, while serving as its women’s campaign chair. She and her husband, Joseph, both are strong advocates for Israel, going on several mission trips there, and she has been honored by Israel Bonds for her activism.

Jacobson has held leadership roles within the Jewish Federation of Detroit, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Senior Life as well as with the Jewish Federation of Sarasota. Her focus, wisdom and passion have had a profound impact on her two sons, eight grandchildren and all who know her.

BARBARA KRATCHMAN

“You gotta have heart and art” (according to the old Damn Yankees song as well as the 1976 Detroit Institute of Arts commercial), and Barbara “Bunny” Kratchman has embodied and advocated for them both throughout her personal and professional life.

She has spent much of her adulthood, after graduating from the University of Michigan, helping to integrate and elevate the cultural arts in a wide range of capacities, including serving as the executive director of the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs under former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard and with numerous Jewish and secular nonprofits in and out of state.

Kratchman’s impressive list of board positions include president of ArtServe Michigan, chair of Jewish Federation of Detroit’s Artists in the Schools program, vice chair of Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art, and board member of Wayne State University’s Board of Visitors, College of Fine and Performing Arts, WTVS Detroit PBS, and the Michigan Nonprofit Association and, most recently, Interlochen and Detroit Opera. She served as a consultant to the Kresge Foundation, and was active with the Jewish Book Fair, Jewish Federation of Detroit’s Women’s Division and Congregation Shaarey Zedek, where she is a member.

She currently takes pride in her involvement with Gesher Human Service’s Creative Expressions program, which provides opportunities for individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities to express themselves through artistic outlets like painting, photography, ceramics, singing, acting and performing. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Opera, College of Creative Studies, and other organizations work closely with participants to hone their skills and discover their talents. 

MICHAEL MADDIN

“Do your best” was the Cub Scout motto Michael Maddin followed as a young boy, and that’s exactly what he has done throughout his life. He also participated in the Junior Achievement program in his youth, paving the way to achieving great heights in his career and in his philanthropic endeavors.

His passion for real estate law was born attending the University of Michigan, and upon graduating from Wayne State University’s Law School (after a six-year stint in the U.S. Air Force Air National Guard), Maddin began a stellar 58-year career as an attorney, co-founding the Maddin, Hauser, Roth, Heller law firm where he was president.

With ongoing support of his wife, Donna, as well as his four children and four grandchildren, Maddin has been a tireless supporter of Israel and the Detroit Jewish community. Early on, he served on the UJA Young Leadership Cabinet, became its regional chair, a member of its Executive Committee and president of the Junior Division (now NEXTGen Detroit). He later served as president of Fresh Air Society (Camp Tamarack), United Jewish Foundation and Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, where he was awarded the Leonard N. Simons History Award for his continued leadership.

The Butzel Award winner’s extensive volunteer activities also include serving as past president of the United Jewish Foundation Federated Endowment Fund, University of Michigan Hillel Board of Trustees, the United Jewish Charities (now UJF) 100th Anniversary Celebration, as chairman of the Jewish Fund, as well as on the Machpelah Cemetery Association board and a number of other foundations. Maddin exemplifies what it means to make a difference and give back to benefit the greater good.

NEIL SATOVSKY

Neil Satovsky could not have imagined 32 years ago when he and Rick Rosenhaus instituted the inaugural Eight over Eighty event that one day, he himself would be among the deserving honorees.

At the time, he was president of Jewish Apartments. His father, Lester, lived at Meer Apartments from 2006 to 2011. Satovsky’s involvement with Jewish Senior Life spans more than four decades from 1980 to today. He has held various leadership roles as a board member and past president of the board, serving on the nominating, finance, house and executive committees. He helped establish the initial endowment program with the Neil and Joni Satovsky Quality of Life Endowment fund. His deep involvement with JSL includes many other committees as well.

Satovsky has also served on the boards of Jewish Vocational Service (Gesher), Hillel of Metropolitan Detroit (HMD) and Jewish Federation of Detroit. In 1977, he received the young leadership William H. Boesky Award and, in 2022, the Jewish Federation of Detroit honored Satovsky with the William Davidson Lifetime Achievement Award for his longtime leadership in the Jewish community.

Satovsky learned the importance of embracing, giving back and supporting the Jewish community at home and beyond at a young age. He was inspired by numerous family members including his parents, Uncle Abe Satovsky, a past president of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, and Cousin Bobby Slatkin, a past president of Jewish Foundation, who encouraged him to get involved in leadership capacities.

A University of Michigan and Wayne State University graduate who earned a CPA degree, Satovsky worked alongside his father in the building and property management industry for 55 years. He remains active in HMD, JSL and Congregation Shaarey Zedek, where he leads minyan, reads Torah and Haftorah, and where he received the Jewish Theological Seminary Shin Award in 2008. His wife, two children and two grandchildren have always supported his charitable endeavors, including creating a fly-fishing program at Camp Tamarack, one of his personal passions.

MARK SCHLUSSEL

From the time he was just a young boy, Mark Schlussel embraced Judaism. He attended Young Israel in Detroit, founded by his father Irving, Yeshiva programs and a rally supporting the establishment of the State of Israel.

He weaved his strong commitment to Jewish causes throughout his successful 60-year legal career and founding his law firm. Schlussel was the youngest person to serve as the president of the Jewish Federation of Detroit and was also president of the Jewish Federation Apartments and the Jewish National Fund. His positions and volunteer activities at both secular and nonsecular organizations include board member of Kids Kicking Cancer, Chairman of the Board of Oakland University, Vice Chairman of the Detroit Medical Center, President of Jewish Education Service of North America, City of Southfield Council member, State of Michigan Building Authority board member and Board of Trustees of Michigan Municipal Bond Authority.

The Butzel Award recipient’s extraordinary vision, passion and commitment to Metro Detroit’s Jewish community led to the relocation of the Jewish Federation of Detroit from Detroit to Bloomfield Township, and the creation of the Jewish Fund with Robert Sosnick, which was established from the proceeds of the sale of Sinai Hospital he negotiated, providing millions of dollars in grants each year to Jewish organizations as well as other essential community endeavors.

Perhaps the most visible representation of Schlussel’s forward-thinking philanthropic prowess is the Neighborhood Project. He negotiated with the state and federal government to build overpasses with parks above the expressway in Oak Park when I-696 was being extended there and in Southfield, making it possible for the Orthodox community to continue to flourish and walk to synagogues. Mark and his wife, Rosie, have been married for 61 years and have four children and 12 grandchildren.

MICHAEL SERLING

“Go green! Go white!” is quite apropos when greeting Michael Serling. Combining his lifelong loyalty, passion for and commitment to his alma mater with his fervent support and deep connection to Israel inspired the Michigan State University graduate to form an advisory board and raise money in the 1990s to grow the university’s Jewish Studies program, as well as providing the major gift to endow an Israel Studies Chair, only the sixth in the United States at that time.

Additionally, he and his wife, Elaine, endowed the MSU Visiting Israeli Scholars Fund, bringing multiple Israeli professors to teach at MSU every year. In 2017, the couple donated the lead gift to establish the MSU Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, and Serling was later honored with MSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

He was raised a Conservative Jew, attended Adat Shalom Synagogue, and when he and Elaine got married, they spent a year in Israel, which had a profound impact on them both and cemented their love for the Jewish homeland.

After graduating from MSU, Serling taught in the Detroit Public School system while attending the Detroit College of Law. He opened his own law firm and was the first Michigan attorney to focus his entire career on mesothelioma cases.

He has never stopped advocating for Jewish causes and fighting against antisemitism through the Anti-Defamation League. Serling has been active with Detroit Jewish Federation and the Michigan AIPAC Council, is a trustee with the Corewell Health Foundation, and has supported JARC, Jewish Senior Life, Jewish National Fund and the Technion Society as well as the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Zoo and other organizations.

The couple are also very involved with Tamarack Camps, endowing the Serling Israeli Camper Program, which brings American and Israeli teens together each summer. Married for 55 years, they have two children and four grandchildren.   

RACHEL YOSKOWITZ

Rachel Yoskowitz has led an exceptional life in service to others. Early in her nursing career, after graduating from the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore School of Nursing, she was an International Council of Nurses Exchange Visitor at Hadassah Hospital in Israel, and upon returning to the U.S., earned a bachelor’s of science degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s of public health from the University of Texas.

When she married Rabbi Herb Yoskowitz, she focused on being a rebbetzin and volunteering at Jewish Federation. Yoskowitz began a new career when they moved to Detroit 31 years ago as director of resettlement at Jewish Family Service, overseeing the resettlement of 7,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union. Yoskowitz even testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Welfare Reform.

As the founding director of Jewish Family Service’s Project Chesed, Yoskowitz created a groundbreaking network of Jewish physicians and health care institutions offering pro bono health care to low-income, medically uninsured Jewish households.

In 2011, she became a founding faculty member of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine as global health director and assistant professor in the Department of Foundational Medical Studies, coordinating an exchange program with Hadassah Hebrew University School of Medicine (and other institutions globally).

When she retired, Yoskowitz received the university’s Faculty Excellence in Service award. A tireless advocate, she has continued to support refugees in a myriad of ways, including volunteering for Ukrainian relief efforts with Temple Israel.

Last year, Yoskowitz helped create a registry to recruit Jewish bone marrow donors in Metro Detroit, organizing large bone marrow events with Hatzalah Detroit, Friendship Circle, Temple Israel, Adat Shalom and University of Michigan Hillel. Married for 52 years, she is blessed with three children and their spouses and eight grandchildren. 

DETAILS

Jewish Senior Life’s 32nd Annual Eight Over Eighty Gala Luncheon

Sunday, May 18, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road in Southfield

• 10:45 a.m. — Arrival and registration; 11:30 a.m. — Program begins. Complimentary valet parking. Dietary laws observed.

• Tickets are $180. Visit jslmi.org/events/8over80 and press Donate/RSVP button.

For sponsorships, journal ads and event information, contact Nicole Lupiloff: (248) 592-5098 or nlupi@jslmi.org.