Nadene Goldfoot
Moses lived till 120. Our wish for everyone on their birthday is that they might live till 120.
Two Jewish grandmothers of the same male child, David, lived till 104 years old. They had different style, diets and hobbies. They were not alone in breaking the age 100 goal. One may have been a Conservative Jew and the other Orthodox. Another lady is known to have lived till 118.
Ruth Whitman nee Cimmet (11/29/1912--8/13/2017) living for (104 years, 8 months, 15 days) was married for 61 years and had 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She graduated from Hazleton, Pa. High School. Tiny in stature – never quite reaching 5-feet in height – her interests and talents were immense. In Scranton she was active in numerous community organizations, including Hadassah, Temple Israel, the Bellevue Community Center and the Jewish Community Center, where she was recognized for her achievements with the “Woman of the Year” award. She continued with similar involvements in Miami. She was an avid lifelong reader and learner, and loved to cook and bake, sew, garden and entertain. Her home was always the gathering place for her beloved extended family. By instinct, she was a feminist well before the women’s lib movement, and up until her very last days she was passionately interested in what was happening in politics and world affairs. In her mid-80s, after the death of her husband, Israel, she met Herman Weingarten in Miami and together they enjoyed a late-life loving relationship.
She was known for her vitality and energy, bright smile, dressed impressively, and had many hobbies such as baking, sewing, gardening, volunteering. She attended aerobics classes, slept her 8 hrs, enjoyed her carrot juice.
Charlotte Hochman (12/20/1900_--8/14/2005) was 12 years older than Ruth. She lived till 104 years, 7 months and 25 days. Cherie was married 51 years. She had 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. She was born in Russia. Her husband, Abraham, had died in 1981, so she was a widow for 24 years. Her father was a Naiditch and mother a Heiger.
Cherie may have lost family in the Holocaust. She probably took it hard. She was known for her weary expression looking like she'd rather be somewhere else, religious but fearful, had a background full of profound loss, seemed to carry the weight of the world like armor, rarely left her dim apartment. Charlotte made her own chopped liver which was loaded with chicken fat, snacked on Hershey bars and spent afternoons on her sagging couch watching AS THE WORLD TURNS.
Neither woman developed dementia, cancer, heart disease or diabetes. In both cases, the cause of death was listed age "age."
What science has found is that hardship creating resilience, love, strength of faith and conscientiousness are the tickets to long life. David sees his 2 grandmothers in a different light now, he sees two sides of a complex truth, one that challenges conventional wisdom, and what it takes to not just live long but to live well.
They also discovered that people over 60 should walk from 6,000 and 8,000 steps daily; that is if you can still walk. I say, if you are walking with a walker and have heart problems, do as much as you can and yet revive comfortably. Too much trying and your body will rebel and seem to never recover. Push it just a wee bit and it will get muscles in the right places. Try pushing someone in a wheelchair; I did and it was great fun!
Resource:
AARP June/July magazine p.50....
Obituaries for both
etimes-tribune.com/obituaries/ruth-cimmet-whitman-syracuse-pa/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tribune-obituary-for-charlotte/72554220/
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