DR. MARVIN NOVETSKY

GRAVESIDE FUNERAL SERVICE: 2:00 P.M. MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023, AT ARBORCREST CEMETERY. Dr. Marvin Novetsky of Chelsea MI, died July 22, 2023, Marvin was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Yeshiva Beth Yehudah until he was ready for High School. He left the Yeshiva with the Rabbi’s blessing after winning a bet that was decided with a heated ping pong match. He ultimately graduated from Mumford High School. Despite demonstrating considerable artistic ability, Marvin pursued a career in prosthetic dentistry, attending the University of Detroit for two years, until he gained early admission to the University of Michigan Dental School. He met his future wife, Pam, while they both worked summer jobs at Federal Department Store in Ferndale, Michigan. Despite considerable resistance from his parents, but with the full support of Pam’s family and his sister, Marilyn, Marvin married Pam in1963 when he was twenty two and Pam was eighteen. He was entering his Junior year of Dental School and was a member of Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity. He joined a dental practice in Flint, Michigan in 1964. In 1966 Marvin was drafted during the Vietnam War, where he served his country for two years as a Captain at Fort Carson Colorado in the Dental Corp, despite being strongly opposed to the conflict. He reasoned that someone had to fix the eighteen year old’s teeth before they were sent into combat in the jungle. He received an Honorable Discharge even though he was a non-compliant officer, especially as regards his refusal to cut his hair according to Army standards. In 1968 he returned to Michigan to pursue an MS degree at the University of Michigan while supporting Pam and their three children under the age of four and a half. He went to school full time and worked in two dental practices to supplement the $200 per month check from the Army. After receiving his degree in Prosthetic Dentistry he joined a dental practice first in Detroit and then in Farmington Hills. He commuted one hundred miles a day from Ann Arbor to Farmington Hills and back for over forty years. His practice included dentures, bridges and implants specializing in treating older adults who had many unsuccessful dentures made by less skilled clinicians. For many years he also donated his services to the patients at Ypsilanti State Hospital as well as those with physical and severe mental disabilities through a program with the Michigan State Dental Association. During the 1980’s Marvin was an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan in the Prosthetic Department where he passed on his commitment to meticulous craftsmanship and the ethical treatment of patients to his students. He had many passions including gardening, his Cape Hatteras cottage, the Detroit Tigers, being a co-parent to his beloved grandchildren Nathan and Morgan Novetsky, and a decades long battle with a single red squirrel. He loved to work on every manner of home improvement project, most of which ended in success. That said, it was remarked that he never met a bolt that he couldn't strip or a tool that he couldn't break. In the family he acquired the nickname of “Destructo”. Most of all, Marvin was deeply committed to caring for and protecting his family and friends, always ready to help anyone in need. In one example, Marvin saved the life of a motorist whose arm was severed in a rollover accident. He crawled into the back of the man’s car, retrieving the limb and then holding a tourniquet in the ambulance until it reached the emergency room. He was an outspoken and fierce defender of his family, friends, patients and his community. He never hesitated to directly confront those who discriminated against or took advantage of others. He was quietly and modestly heroic, never expecting any acknowledgment or reward for the many acts of loving kindness and generosity he selflessly offered to anyone in need. His death is a profound loss for his family: his spouse of sixty years, Pam; children, Nicole Novetsky, Jason Novetsky (Karen Dublin) and Ahvram Novetsky (Jamie Novetsky); grandchildren who called him “Dja-Dja”, Nathan Novetsky, Morgan Novetsky, Sammy Novetsky and Shayna Novetsky; sisters, Shirley Keys (Marshall), Marilyn Applebaum (Ron Thomas) and Diane Novetsky (Art Guerci-Lena). His brother, Jerry Novetsky, is deceased. He will be missed by his friends at Temple Beth Emeth and Silver Maples of Chelsea as well as by his beloved cousins, Monica Ferri, Linda Mendelson, and Don Mendelson. Donations: Temple Beth Emeth, Southern Poverty Law Center, US Holocaust Museum, American Jewish World Service, Doctors without Borders. Service: Officiated by Temple Beth Emeth Clergy, graveside at Arbor Crest Memorial Garden, 2:00 PM Monday 24 July 2023. Interment: Arborcrest Cemetery, Ann Arbor Officiator: Rabbi Feuchs Shiva: The family will be sitting Shiva at the residence, 309 Woodland Drive Chelsea MI 48118 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you wish to honor the memory of Dr. Marvin Novetsky you may do so by making a donation to: Temple Beth Emeth 2309 Packard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or Southern Poverty Law Center 400 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 or United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2126

DR. MARVIN NOVETSKY

October 4, 1940 - July 22, 2023

Explore

Donations

Grief & Healing

About Us

Obituaries

Plan Ahead

Resources

Contact Info

DR. MARVIN NOVETSKY

October 4, 1940 - July 22, 2023

Obituary Notification

Explore

Donations

Grief & Healing

About Us

Obituaries

Plan Ahead

Resources

Contact Info