Zaslow Touched Lives at West Bloomfield Dinner Party

The most memorable dinner party Carolyn Krieger-Cohen ever hosted almost didn't happen. Stricken with a cold last Saturday afternoon, she received a call from the first two people on her short guest list — longtime neighbors and friends Sherry Margolis and her husband, New York Times-bestselling author Jeffrey Zaslow — who asked that, given her condition, she postpone the party and rest.

"(Jeff) had been working on so many books for so long, just, seven days a week, that I made a point that I had to have them over, so I didn't want to cancel it," said Krieger-Cohen, who owns an advertising and public relations firm in West Bloomfield. "I'm so glad I didn't. It was truly such an extraordinarily magical evening that I know everyone will remember together, forever."

Tragedy struck Friday after it was announced that Zaslow, 53, died in a car accident in northern Michigan. Zaslow had been touring the state in support of his December release The Magic Room, and lost control of his vehicle, skidding into the path of an oncoming truck on M-32.

Zaslow is survived by wife, Margolis, a Fox 2 Detroit news anchor, and three daughters, Jordan, Alex and Eden.

The gathering Feb. 4 at Krieger-Cohen's West Bloomfield home was intentionally small, she said; she was interested in bringing together both personal friends of Zaslow and his wife, Margolis, as well as those who primarily knew him through his fame as a New York Times-bestselling author.

Author Laura Solomon attended the party having only spoken with Zaslow intermittently over the last couple of years, but said she left knowing she had made a good friend.

"It's not always easy for me and some other people to meet someone new. Given his fame and his experiences, it would have been understandable to feel intimidated by him," Solomon said. "But he wasn’t talking about his books or his experience, he was asking me about how I was and how I was doing it and what did I think about the methods I was using.

It made me feel good about myself. He was good at doing that — so that you felt comfortable around him, although he's famous."

Longtime friend and retired radio host Alan Muskovitz said that the sense of inquiry was a product of Zaslow's never-ending energy. 

"He just lit up a room and people gravitated to him," Muskovitz said. "His questions were never degrading or sarcastic. Instead, they were funny. He was the funniest person I knew. He had an ability to look at every aspect of life and find the humor in it." 

Krieger-Cohen added: "He had an amazing wit and sense of timing. His delivery, his sense of humor, and his natural curiosity would have made you remember him if you met him on the street and had no idea of his works."

Solomon started a roundtable game among the 10 guests at the party — five couples — asking every individual guest for the secret to the success of their marriage. She said that Zaslow's answer to the secret of his 25-year marriage, in the form of a joke, brought the house down.

"It was his traveling schedule," Solomon remembered.

"We laughed so hard," Krieger-Cohen said. "I was sitting across from him and I have to say, I was a good audience for him, because not only did he make me laugh when he said something, but that his laugh made me laugh. He was so bright and funny."

Muskovitz's emotion turned wistful when remembering what Margolis said in response.

"Sherry turned to me when it was her turn and said, 'I'm just crazy about (Jeff).' I'll never forget that," he said.

'I had to find him and give him a hug'

Originally from Philadelphia, Zaslow's roots in Metro Detroit went deep. In the past two days, it's been almost overwhelming keeping up with the flood of memories from entities such as the West Bloomfield Optimist Club, the West Bloomfield Library, Oakland University and others whom Zaslow emotionally touched during speaking tours in support of his books such as The Last Lecture and more recently, The Magic Room.

Muskovitz met Zaslow and Margolis under far different circumstances. Some 23 years ago, when Margolis was pregnant with the couple's eldest child, he said, Muskovitz sold them his West Bloomfield condominium. They instantly hit it off as friends.

"I was working in advertising at the time and they, recognizing my sense of humor, recommended that I pursue radio," Muskovitz remembered. "Sherry made a phone call for me and I ended up working on Dick Purtan's show for many years as a result. Their support led to a successful career change for me."

Krieger-Cohen remembered a more recent Thanksgiving holiday, directly after it was announced that Zaslow would help Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch write a book based a lecture he gave after a terminal cancer diagnosis. The lecture by Pausch, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, would later become the New York Times bestseller, The Last Lecture.

"That morning, I read the news and I was overcome with happiness, because I knew that there was nobody better to write this story. I knew it was Thanksgiving, but I had to find him and give him a hug," she said.

Krieger-Cohen said that she arrived unannounced to the couple's home as Zaslow was speaking with Pausch on the phone. Regardless, Margolis kept her company in a way she never could have expected.

"We got to talking and crying and laughing and it turned into this marathon session — I was there from about 10 in the morning until 5 at night — on Thanksgiving. Finally, he came out of his study and I got to give him a hug and he was so gracious. 

"Then, I said, 'Wow, I guess it's a good thing you're not having family over tonight, huh?' And they said, 'What are you talking about? We're having dinner here with Sherry's family in a couple of hours!"

As Zaslow was a renowned storyteller, Muskovitz said that those close to him are now responsible for telling Zaslow's story.

"He touched millions of lives around the world and that is quite a legacy. It will have to be the strength that his family draws on — he helped a lot of people through his work."

Funeral arrangements through Ira Kaufman Chapel of Southfield are pending.