Celebrating Life
8 Over 80 event honors
8 Over 80 honorees with the high
school juniors who interviewed them
and wrote their bios for the event
seniors who make a difference in the world.
0
n Sunday, May 4, more than 400
people attended the 21st annual
8 Over 80 celebration hosted
by Jewish Senior Life at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills. The eight
honorees — Sissi Lapides, Earl Remer,
Ada Bandalene, Joanna Berger, William
"Bill" Farber, Bernard Moray, Sidney
Stone and Rolland Walt — were escorted
in by their "partners:' 11th-graders who
interviewed the them and wrote their bios
for the event. Moving videos captured the
A1N Pr
Jenny Farber, Monica Moray, Kathy Hack and Danielle Sprecher
spirit and style of each honoree, moving
audience members to laughter and to
tears in equal measure. The event attract-
ed a record crowd and raised a record
amount for Jewish Senior Life's kosher
meal program.
❑
-10,--
Eleanor Yarrows and Paula Marks Bolton
Remembering Grandma
Lynne Meredith Golodner
Special to the Jewish News
A
s the eight honorees from Jewish
Senior Life's 8 Over 80 event on
May 4 proceeded into the cel-
ebration, my eyes filled with tears. I didn't
know any of them personally, so why was
I crying?
It's been just six months since my
beloved grandmother, Sheila Schussler,
passed away, and I realized as these won-
derfully inspiring older adults marched
into the event with proud smiles and
bursts of applause, we never publicly
nominated Grandma for all the wonderful
accomplishments of her life.
Sure, we celebrated her every day — by
calling, spending time together, giving
her gifts and telling her we loved her. We
celebrated who she was, her big heart, her
kindness and generosity, all the days that
she lived in small ways, between us and
among family.
But there is something significant about
announcing to the world how wonder-
ful an everyday person is — finding the
extraordinary in the ordinary — for we all
have it inside us. And we all deserve to be
noticed for it.
I'm surprised by how acutely I miss my
grandmother. People die. It's part of life.
8 May 22 • 2014
And when an elderly beloved relative turns
90 and 91, with declining health, we know
it's inevitably on the horizon.
In a way, it was a relief to know my
grandmother was finally at peace. And yet,
that doesn't make it any easier to know
that she will never be at the holiday or
Shabbat table with us, she won't see my
new house, she won't attend an orchestra
concert for my daughter or a talent show
at school ever again.
My grandmother was that special kind
of grandmother who had infinite patience
and a huge amount of love. She was calm
and kind and listened well. Every day
of her life, her makeup was perfect, her
jewelry in place, her clothing refined, her
nails manicured. She epitomized elegance.
And she lived love.
Were we wrong to never submit her for
a public honor like this annual event? I
wouldn't say wrong.
What I would say is that life is short and
it goes by quickly, so we must make it a
point to notice the meaningful moments
in the mundane and celebrate the spec-
tacular right under our noses.
When Gigi died last Thanksgiving
weekend, I spoke at the funeral about
how remarkable it was to have my grand-
mother in my life for 42 years. So it's really
no surprise that every day I have glimpses
Emcees Al Muskovitz and Cheryl
Chodun
8 Over 80 sparks memories
of how special we all are.
of her when I close my eyes, and I miss her
deep in my chest. My eyes brim with tears
frequently for missing her, even though I
accept the cycle of life.
That long weekend, family flew in from
all corners of the country. She died on a
Wednesday and the funeral was Friday
— we gathered at my parents' house for
Thanksgiving, and although we were
stricken with grief, and in limbo waiting
to lay her to rest beside my grandfather,
it was the best Thanksgiving I've ever cel-
ebrated.
That's because my entire family — gen-
erations of cousins, dozens and dozens of
people, Grandma's legacy — were gath-
ered together in all our glory, beautifully
connected. My children and my cousins'
children were immediate best friends. My
cousins and I, and our parents, felt that
familiar tug of family, of coming home.
We were in the embrace of true gratitude,
actually living this concept of thanksgiving,
for the lives we have been gifted, thanks to
the generations that came before us.
Jewish Senior Life is a client of my pub-
lic relations business. This is the third 8
Over 80 that I've promoted to the public,
but the first that struck me as so wonder-
fully incredible. The eight individuals
honored for their contributions to society
and community, their focus on family and
Sheila Schussler and her granddaughter
Lynne Meredith Golodner at Lynne's
wedding three years ago.
meaning, truly deserve to be honored.
So do many, many more who weren't
on that stage. It should be one of our most
delightful focuses of life to recognize the
special qualities of each person that cross-
es our path, to find something significant
and unique in every interaction. That's the
point of life as far as I'm concerned.
❑
Lynne Meredith Golodner is owner/chief
creative officer of Your People LLC, a
Southfield public relations firm, and author of
eight books. She lives in Huntington Woods
with her husband and four children, and blogs
daily at www.lynnegolodner.com .