26 July 25 • 2019
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L
iving to age 95 is quite a feat,
but Mary Blitz is doing it
with good health and a zest
for life that few can match.
Months before her
95th birthday on June
6, daughter Beverly
Tepper Wallace of West
Bloomfield asked her
mother if she wanted a
party to celebrate.
Blitz said, “No, I want
to see the U.S.A. in my
Chevrolet.” Wallace was surprised
but agreeable, responding “OK,
Dinah Shore.” (Singer Dinah Shore
popularized the “See the U.S.A”
song for Chevrolet during the
1950s).
So, Wallace planned a road
trip for her mother, along with
Wallace’
s two brothers — Andrew
of West Bloomfield and Dennis
of Chicago. In June, they drove
to South Bend, Ind., to visit Blitz’
niece and her family. Then they
traveled to Louisville to visit Blitz’
s
younger brother, David Olshansky,
and his family.
But this trip was just the latest
of Blitz’
s travels. In 2017, Wallace
decided to take her mother on a
“Legacy Tour.”
“I wanted her to see her legacy. I
wanted her to see how her children
raised their children and how they
raised her great-grandchildren,”
Wallace says. “She is No. 1 in all of
her children’
s and grandchildren’
s
lives.”
Over 18 months, they traveled
to San Francisco, Denver and San
Antonio to visit some of Blitz’
s
nine grandchildren and 16 great-
grandchildren.
“I’
m thrilled they turned out
so well,” says Blitz, whose family
nickname is “President O’
mama.”
Originally from San
Antonio, Blitz lived in the
Detroit area with her late
husband, Louis, for most of
her life. After her children
were grown, she worked in
the Tamarack Camps office
and was an active volunteer
for B’
nai B’
rith Women and
Children Unlimited, serving as its
president.
Blitz has lived at Meer Jewish
Apartments since 2010. She served
as president of the residents’
board
for two years and is a member of
the Meer Choir. Wallace and Blitz
volunteer together at the Meer
boutique once a week and recently
modeled in the Jewish Senior Life
Senior Fashion Show.
Blitz is very healthy, other
than arthritis requiring the use
of a cane or walker. Her health is
“God-given,” she says. “I eat junk
food and no vegetables, except
occasionally a salad.”
Recently, Blitz prepared for July
4 by having her nails embellished
with a bright flag pattern. Some of
her Meer friends disapproved but it
didn’
t bother her. “This way I don’
t
have to carry a flag,” she says.
Wallace enjoys Blitz’
s “dry
sarcasm” and says that she is
“totally with it and fun to be with.”
Blitz will be on the road again
this fall when she returns to San
Antonio for her great-niece’
s bat
mitzvah. “I’
m extremely grateful for
a close, healthy family,” she says. ■
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
jews d
in
the
‘Legacy Tour’
Family road trip celebrates a local
great-grandmother’
s 95th birthday.
ABOVE: Mary Blitz
with daughter Bev
Tepper Wallace,
granddaughter Jodi
and with great-grand-
daughters Laila, Tatum
and Harper in Menlo
Park, Calif.
ADHD
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