Hundreds Gather To Remember Life Of Philanthropist, Businessman Alfred Taubman
SOUTHFIELD (CBS DETROIT) - The sounds of a string quartet inside of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield greeted hundreds of people, including several state dignitaries, who came to remember the incredible life of A. Alfred Taubman.
The 91-year-old philanthropist and shopping mall mogul died Friday of a heart attack at his home in Bloomfield Hills.
Robert Taubman said his dad lived his life with no regrets.
"He was so content, he loved what his life had become, he would constantly repeat at different times and in different ways 'I feel so lucky to have had such a remarkable life.' And absolutely no regrets."
Taubman's death comes just days after a ground-breaking to celebrate the renovation of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan where he gave so generously, a trait noted by former U of M President Mary Sue Coleman.
"In the end, it was Alfred Taubman who was the gift, and it is we who are the grateful beneficiaries. He gave of himself in ways that I'm not sure we will see again. He was an extraordinary man," she said.
Taubman donated hundreds of millions of dollars to universities, hospitals and museums. He began his first real estate business in 1950 and pioneered the development of enclosed shopping malls in Michigan, California and elsewhere in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Taubman died just a few miles from where he was born 91 years ago ... in the city of Pontiac.
