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56 October 5 • 2017 jn K elly lost her battle with Leukodystrophy,(also known as Vanishing White Matter Disease), a rare genetic disorder, on September 18, 2017 at the age of 49 years. She was the oldest known living person with this disease and proudly contributed to worldwide research on the disease including the genome project at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Major worldwide research on this disease is now being done at Tel Aviv University in Israel under the direction of Dr. Orna Elroy Stein. Kelly was raised in Grand Ledge, Michigan, where she lived independently for many years, despite her challenges. She also worked as a volunteer medical assistant at a Lansing nursing home, sharing her positive energy with older adults. More recently she lived at American House of West Bloomfield where she enjoyed a new quality of life. Kelly loved her church friends of Lansing who continued to support her in the past two years. She also treasured the love from her Jewish family, their daily visits, and spiritual support from the Chabad Shul of West Bloomfield. She had a passion for helping others ...those with disabilities, seniors, vulnerabilities of any kind and animals. She had a special affinity for Storm, her brother Eric's dog, who made frequent visits for play time and food treats. She cared about the environment, had a small recycling business and encouraged others to do the same; She loved country music, had a lovely voice, and most recently sang "Take me Home" in front of a small audience, accompanied by her music therapist. Most remarkable about Kelly was her attitude and unbreakable spirit. Despite her progressive illness and its limitations, she never complained, never asked "why me" and never lost her faith. She was known for her smile, reaching out and time for others, her positive energy, and her quiet and loving way with everyone. Perhaps her mother Patricia said it best: "I think I have finally figured it out…the purpose of Kelly's life has been to inspire others" …and that she did… She lit up a dark room with her smile, she brought hope to others with her courage as she defied the odds every day, and shared her love in countless ways. Kelly has really made a difference in her all too short life and we will carry her legacy with us as a reminder to do our best and be our best every day. She leaves her parents, Richard Cooper of Waterford and Patricia Teachout of Grand Ledge. She is also survived by her loving siblings, Eric, Seth, Loren, Gabrielle, Susie, Dawn, Jill and her step parents, Harriet Cooper and Richard Teachout. A memorial service will be held at 11:30 AM on October 28, 2017 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 7740 W. St. Joe Highway, Lansing Michigan 48917. Memorial tributes may be made to the American Friends of Tel Aviv University at: https/aftau.org/ memory-of-Kelly or mailed to 39 Broadway; Suite 1510; New York NY 10006 (Major Leukodystrophy research/also known as Vanishing White Matter Disease); or Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 7740 W. St. Joe Highway, Lansing, MI 48917. Kelly Joyce Cooper RYAN TOROK JEWISH JOURNAL T elevision icon and phi- lanthropist Monty Hall died on Sept. 30, 2017, at age 96. For decades, Hall lived a double life: ebullient game show host and celebrity by day and, when off camera, indefatigable fundraiser and philanthropist for Jewish and other causes. Renowned for co-creating and hosting Let's Make a Deal, Hall was equally if not more proud of raising, by some estimates, more than $1 billion for charity. Monte Halparin was born Aug. 25, 1921, in Winnipeg, Canada, the son of Rose and Maurice. His Orthodox Jewish family was in the kosher meat busi- ness, and Hall grew up delivering orders on his bicycle. His mother, Rose, was a schoolteacher, performer and Hadassah regional president who Hall once called a "combination of Golda Meir and [Yiddish actress] Molly Picon." The family struggled and lived in close quarters. Hall couldn't afford to stay in college, so he dropped out. Fortunately, a Jewish businessman and friend of the family, Max Freed, altered the trajec- tory of Hall's life. When Hall was 19, Freed, 10 years Hall's senior, offered to pay for Hall's college education, with three conditions: His grades had to be B-plus or higher; he had to report regularly to Freed on his progress; and, most importantly, he had to promise one day he would do the same to a kid who needed help. Hall seized the opportunity. He re- enrolled at the University of Manitoba, checking in with Freed to inform him of his grades. In 1945, he earned his degree. While in college, Hall performed in musical theater productions and worked an evening job as a radio disc jockey. After graduating, he moved to Toronto, where he worked at a radio station. There, his boss told him to shorten his name from Halparin to Hall. Restless and looking for bigger opportunities, Hall moved to New York in 1955 and transi- tioned to television. Five years later, he moved to Hollywood. There his big break was co-creating with Stefan Hatos Let's Make a Deal, which debuted on NBC in late 1963. It aired until 1968 before moving to ABC, where it ran until 1976. The show's legacy was its inclusiveness, Hall said. "Let's Make a Deal was the first television show that used black people, brown people, yellow people, old people, fat people, skinny people because we felt this was a cross section of America," Hall told the Archive of American Television in a 2002 interview. Let's Make a Deal gave rise to a classic probability puzzle. After a contestant has chosen one door, and then the host offers him the opportunity to change his mind and choose another, should he? Would changing his mind better his odds? Hall had said that in "The Monty Hall Problem," as it came to be called, the con- testant's choice matters less than the way the host manipulates the player. Hall and his late wife, Marilyn, who died in June, raised three children: Richard, a television producer; actress Joanna Gleason; and Sharon, also a tele- vision producer. They were married for nearly 70 years. Marilyn was an actress, writer, producer and philanthropist. In 2013, Hall was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1973. Hall had a lifelong commitment to Judaism. He was a longtime friend of the late Rabbi Jacob Pressman of Temple Beth Am, where the family belonged. In 2005, Hall had his second bar mitzvah at Temple Shalom for the Arts — today known as Temple of the Arts. Hall credited his commitment to Judaism and his mother, Rose, for his devotion to charitable giving. In fact, he spent much of his life raising money for charity. Causes he supported included the children's charity Variety International, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Israel Tennis Centers. He also was a regular presence on the gala circuit, emceeing events benefiting Hadassah, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the Jewish Home for the Aging (now the Los Angeles Jewish Home), among countless others. • continued from page 55 Monty Hall WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 0f blessed memory soul Monty Hall: TV Host And Philanthropist