Seymour Riklin, teacher of humanities

Seymour Riklin of Bloomfield Hills died May 24. He was born in Russia in 1914 and his family immigrated when he was six, settling in Detroit.

Mr. Riklin graduated from Northern High School and Wayne University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1936. He received a master's degree in English from the University of Chicago in 1940. Mr. Riklin served as an infantry captain in the States and in England and later as an information officer in Germany during World War II.

After leaving the service, he earned a master's degree in philosophy at the University of Michigan. He taught at the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University and Wayne University. At the latter, he was on the staff of the University Center for Adult Education.

In 1962, he was appointed assistant director of Detroit Adventure, then the Arts Council of Metropolitan Detroit. He was a co-founder of the Detroit Film Theater at the Institute of Arts and led a literature discussion group at the Bloomfield Township Library.

During the 1960s, Mr. Riklin moderated and produced a television series on Public Broadcasting, gave historical commentary about special holidays and was an occasional guest with J.P. McCarthy on WJR.

Early in his career, he edited several books and program notes written for the Detroit Symphony. "Some people have said that Seymour was a renaissance man," said his wife Dolorais.

In the mid-1970s, he returned to the classroom as an associate professor with the University Studies-Weekend College Program and was twice winner of the Adult Education Association of Michigan Teacher of the Year award. After his official retirement in 1985, Mr. Riklin continued to teach philosophy for Wayne State, Henry Ford Community College, Oakland University and the Center for Creative Studies.

Mr. Riklin is survived by his wife, Dolorais; son, Geoffrey, both of Bloomfield Hills.

The Detroit Jewish News, Jul. 19, 1996