famil focus
Their Second Century!
Jewish Senior Life honors a dozen centenarian residents with a gala luncheon.
Serene Mazer and Chilly Revich
Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer
W
hen you're in the full-time
business of "senior life
it's a big deal to have 12
seniors over the age of 100 living in
your facilities at the same time. And the
management at Jewish Senior Life of
Metropolitan Detroit (JSL) really made
a big deal of it last week, much to the
delight of the nine centenarians able to
attend and their families and friends.
The nine were hon-
ored at a gala luncheon
attended by members
of their families and
JSL officials. They remi-
nisced about an era of
Theodore Roosevelt and
William Howard Taft,
JSL's CEO
who were presidents
Rochelle Upfal when they were born;
World War I, "the war
to end all wars"; avoid-
ing the great flu epidemic of 1919; the
Flapper age of the 1920s; the terrible
Depression of the 1930s; and World War
II, the next "war to end all wars."
Rochelle Upfal, CEO of JSL, and Carol
Rosenberg, JSL Foundation director, who
have a combined 62 years of experience
working with older adults, said they
couldn't remember another time when
there were so many JSL residents older
than 100.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
more than 100,000 centenarians live
in the United States today, with about
600,000 projected by 2050. The average
age of about 860 older adults currently at
JSL's seven facilities is 87.
Manny Hauer
Rachel Thomas
Inspiration To Everyone
"You represent more than 900 years of
history, with lives full of love and kind-
ness," Upfal told the group. "Through
the years, you helped build the Jewish
community around us and make it what
it is today. We're glad you chose to have
your homes at our JSL facilities. You're an
inspiration to us and we kvell (gush with
pride) from your achievements."
The nine centenarians attending
were Sonia Glaser, 104, Serene Mazer,
101, and Chilly Revich, 100, of the
Hechtman Apartments; Helen Ritter, 101,
and Rachel Thomas, 102, of the Teitel
Apartments; Hilda Silverman and Martin
Shubin, both 100, of the Fleischman
Residence; Mary Cantor, 101, of the
Prentis Apartments; and Manny Hauer,
100, of the Meer Apartments.
Unable to attend were Edith Kuschner,
104, of Hechtman; Mary Fink, 102, of
Meer; and Etel Kucherova, 102, of Prentis.
Some have fuzzy memories and some
are hard of hearing, but they were sharp
in sharing their secrets to longevity.
"If you want to stay healthy and live
long, you have to help others; (do' for
others:' advised Ritter, who was born in
Poland and came to America at age 8.
Volunteers At Teitel
"It was very tough getting into this coun-
try, but it's a mechieh (pleasure) to be liv-
ing here at Teitel [for 23 years]; it's such
a clean and wonderful place Ritter said.
She volunteers in the dining room three
days a week.
The greatest inventions during her 100
years? "The computer and the telephone
she replied.
Revich summed up longevity simply:
Martin Shubin
"Just mind your own business': she declared.
"If you do that, you won't get involved in
any problems:' Born in Canada, she came to
Detroit as a teenager and attended Northern
High School. She considers the automobile
and the phone as the greatest inventions of
the past century or so.
"Eat a lot of ice cream:' quipped
Silverman, "especially Sanders hot fudge
sundaes. But I also try to exercise, mostly
walking." A transplanted New Yorker,
she came to Michigan after World War
I, attended Commerce High School and
worked as a bookkeeper. Her greatest
accomplishment in life? "Having children
[two daughters]:' she answered quickly.
"Maintain a positive attitude said
Mazer, "and life is sure to have a positive
outcome:' A native of Illinois, she moved
to the Detroit area as a youngster.
Married For 71 Years
Hauer, who was born in the Ukraine and
later went to Detroit's Cass Tech High,
has been married for 71 years to his wife,
Helen, who stayed in the background
and let him have the limelight during the
luncheon. They've lived at Meer for nine
years. He recently won a gold medal for
walking 1,500 meters in 15 minutes at the
U.S. Senior Olympics.
"Work hard and keep a good diet, with
no meat or pizza;' he advised. "Although
I like to have a whiskey drink once in a
while — to clear my throat."
Thomas, who is African American, was
born in Alabama. She recalled, "I worked
hard in the fields for very little money. I
came to Detroit to earn some real money
(at Domestic Linen Co.). She has an exten-
sive antique collection, including the fur-
niture in her Teitel apartment, where she
Hilda Silverman
has been Ritter's neighbor for 20 years.
"It's wonderful how all races are now
mixed together among the older adults:'
said Ritter.
Glaser remembers how the late Tom
Borman, the supermarket mogul who was
her distant cousin, arranged to bring her
to America from the Ukraine. She later
became a hat designer.
"The best thing to do in order to remain
healthy and active is to always com-
municate with your family and friends:'
she pointed out. She's an ardent Zionist,
"and I'm proud of my work for the Labor
Zionist movement, and that I learned flu-
ent Hebrew as a youngster:' She regards
the washing machine as the greatest
invention of her lifetime.
'Leave It To The Man Upstairs`
Shubin, the only centenarian who was
born in Detroit, worked at the Crowley-
Milner department store for many years.
"I went into the Army at the start of World
War II, and I got most of my teeth blown
out by the force of an explosion:' he said. "I
spent a lot of time in England and Iceland
during the war:'
Cantor, a native of Washington, D.C., says
she has no secret to long lifelust leave it to
the man upstairs',' she added. Before mov-
ing to Prentis, she says she was "smoked
out" of her apartment at Hechtman during
the near-tragic fire of 2008.
"These centenarians are great examples
of older adults who are aging with dignity,
and that's part of our mission at Jewish
Senior Life said Carol Rosenberg. "They
have terrific attitudes and delightful
senses of humor.
"They fit in perfectly with our motto:
`Living well at JSL."
November 17 - 2011
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