Community Corner

Family, Friends Remember Jack Kevorkian

About 150 people pay their last respects to the longtime Royal Oak resident and world famous assisted suicide advocate at a public memorial service Friday.

Jack Kevorkian was remembered Friday as much – if not more – for his intelligence, wit and many talents than his notoriety for helping 130 people kill themselves.

just days after turning 83 of a pulmonary embolism while hospitalized at in Royal Oak, where he'd been treated for respiratory issues.

Family, friends and dozens of supporters who were unknown to Kevorkian gathered at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery in Troy to honor the longtime Royal Oak resident who one called "a hero."

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Neal Nicol of Waterford was friends with Kevorkian for 50 years. “I personally have lost a friend of five decades,” he said. "He managed to touch thousands of lives around the world ... I'm glad one of them was mine."

Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian's close friend and attorney, told mourners that Kevorkian paid a steep price for his beliefs, including losing his medical license and going to prison for eight years.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"You have to sacrifice yourself," he said. "Jack was a particularly unusual human being."

Barbara Fisher of Rochester was at the service with her son, Ed Fisher of Dearborn Heights. Barbara Fisher said her late husband, William, was Kevorkian's patent attorney years ago, so they came to pay their respects.

"He was a brilliant, genius man ," Ed Fisher said outside the chapel before the service began. "I wish there were more people with his courage and conviction nowadays and the guts to stand up ... to these feds and institutions who have so much money so they can squash people's rights and squash the courage of the people who are just try to do the right thing."

At the end of the service, mourners were welcomed to go up to and touch the U.S.- flag-draped casket – Kevorkian served in Korea – to say their final good-byes. The burial service afterward was to be private.

Kevorkian's niece, Ava Janus of Troy, with whom he was very close, received well-wishers after the service. People lined up to pay their respects, several thanking her for allowing the public to participate today.

What did Kevorkian like best about l? "Hometown USA," Janus said. "Also, it reminded him of Pontiac when he was growing up in in the 1930s and '40s.  They had a very, very active downtown. He was lucky enough to find an apartment right there in downtown so he could walk everywhere. That's they way it was when he was a boy ... Also, the people were very, very friendly. He liked that. He was a people person.

"The last place he went to was Hermann's Bakery (on Main Street). He liked the atmosphere. They have a few tables and chairs, you could get your coffee or tea, the camaraderie with the people walking in and out. Also, the employees are very nice people. He enjoyed that."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here