FRANKLIN, Mich. — Gorman’s Furniture chairman Bernard “Bernie” Moray passed away on Friday, Aug. 20, his 100th birthday.
A native Detroiter, Moray began his career in the furniture industry in 1949 with Robinson’s Furniture. The Air Force Reserves veteran later left to purchase Gorman’s Furniture from Ben Gorman in 1965. The following year, he opened the company’s landmark Contemporary Gallery in Southfield, Mich., with the goal of becoming the best contemporary furniture retailer in the nation.
Additional stores in Michigan — Troy, Novi, Lakeside and Grand Rapids, as well as a dedicated warehouse in Farmington Hills — opened throughout the following decades.
Gorman’s Vice President/Partner Jeff Roberts and President/Partner Tom Lias said, “We remain grateful of the time he was with us and the incredible impact that he left, not only on the Metro Detroit community but the world at large. Bernie had been at the helm of Gorman’s Furniture since he purchased the company in 1965. The values we hold true today are because of his guidance and leadership. Bernie was very generous and helped many organizations throughout the years.”
The former president of the National Home Furnishings Assn. was recognized in 1993 by the organization as Retailer of the Year and, in 2013, with the Masters of the Game: Furniture Today Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, he was inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame.
Moray championed a number of civic and philanthropic endeavors in the stores that have raised considerable financial support for organizations such as Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Toys for Tots, Arc of Oakland County and Kent County and the American Cancer Society. He has served as an executive committee member of the Interior Design Society, chairman of the Allied Jewish Campaign’s furniture division and on the visitors board of the Wayne State University Business School.
Moray was preceded in death by his son, James Moray, in 2010. He is survived by his wife Muriel, his daughter Susan and son Jonathan, and their families.
The funeral will be held outdoors at Clover Hill Park Cemetery on Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. Religious services will be held outside at 6:30 p.m., and the family will be gathering through the evening at the residence: 27450 Fairway Hills Drive, Farmington HIlls, Mich. 48334.
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