500+ Years Of Life: Centenarians Celebrated At Wilf Campus For Senior Living

SOMERSET, N.J. - May 25, 2016 - PRLog -- It takes a lot of heart and a little luck to make it to 100 years of age. On May 17, Marcelo Chinski celebrated his 100th birthday at a party at Stein Assisted Living in Somerset, NJ. The Minyan from Beit Sholim of Monroe Twp.  attended and sponsored the luncheon, which was also attended by the Rabbi from Perrinneville Jewish Synagogue, where Marcelo used to be a congregant.

Born in Vilna, Russia, Marcelo is gifted with a beautiful voice. He is fluent in seven foreign languages: Yiddish; Hebrew; English; Italian; Spanish; Polish; and Russian. In Marcelo's honor, a grove of trees was planted in Israel.

Marcelo left Poland and lived in Paris, escaping from the Nazis to Argentina, where he started a business and family.  He later lived in New York and then for a time in Israel, where he met his second wife, Gita.  Eventually they moved back to the United States.

Another party and ceremony for all Somerset County centenarians was held at Regency Jewish Heritage. Five Stein residents over 100 or turning 100 participated:  Myrtle Levy; Mickey (Miriam) Mintz; Bobby (Clarice) Rosenstraus; Marcelo Chinski and Lillian Bank.  All Stein centenarians received a visit from Phillip Kramer, Mayor of Franklin Township, and Cynthia Vorhees, from the Division on Aging and Disabilities, who honored them with a special presentation and certificates.  On the following day all the 5 centenarian where honored at Stein Assisted Living where family members and staff spoke about them in a beautiful ceremony.

Meriana "Myrtle" Levy was born in Philadelphia, the oldest of four siblings. Although her father was not religious, he saw to it that Myrtle got a good Jewish foundation. She took that to heart and decided that she would do all she could to make the world a better place, not just in Israel, but everywhere. She later became a volunteer for several programs in the United States and volunteered in IDS in Israel for 17 summers.

At 25, Levy married her husband, Lawrence, who was an accountant. They had two children, Cheryl and Alisa. Pondering the new chapter of life at Stein, Levy considers herself fortunate to have found a place where she thrives from participating in a many activities that keep her mind sharp and challenged.  She very much enjoys all the intellectual and spiritual activities.

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. That's the credo of Mickey (Miriam) Mintz.

A Brooklyn native, Mickey worked as an office administrator before marrying her husband, Eli, a biochemist. They were married for 70 years before Eli passed away.  She has two children, Jesse Mintz and Liz Nadel, as well as 6 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

During her life, Mickey traveled all over Israel and Europe, visiting Israel often because her daughter served as chief librarian of the University of Tel Aviv. Her favorite places in Europe are London, Paris, and Belgium.

While most senior citizens find it difficult to adapt to new technologies and use computers, Mickey is an exception. She often Skypes with family members.  As she reflects on her life, Mickey said she is most proud that she has lived by another credo: that it is important to help others.

Bobby (Clarice) Rosenstraus worked as a travel secretary until marriage, when she became a stay at home mom to raise her sons, Maurice and Joel. Later, she worked at Macy's until she retired and moved to Florida. She came back north to Stein Assisted Living five years ago.

Lillian Bank was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents from Russia. She was the youngest of four children. Lillian lived through a tough time in America's history, surrounded by people in a similar situation, poor immigrants struggling to make ends meet.

Holidays were the only time food was plentiful. But Lillian  always made the best of any situation and was happy with what she had.

Working as a doctor's assistant, Lillian was able to afford luxuries that were once foreign to her family. She went on to take the civil service exam and became part of the New York Police Department. Lillian liked to travel, and would go on trips to places like the Caribbean, Europe and Israel. She also loved to gamble, and almost always came out ahead.

An avid reader, Lillian reads three books a week and loves challenging word searches. One of Lillian's favorite things about being at Stein is being surrounded by all the wonderful people who make her life that much better. She is frequently visited by her daughter, Sheila.

So what is the secret of living to 100 and beyond? The truth is, there is no secret. There is little these five centenarians have in common except for their good genes. But the things they all tell us are to have a positive attitude, try to do things for others, and treat every day as a gift.

The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living is

comprised of Stein Assisted Living, Jaffa Gate Memory Care

Neighborhood, Stein Hospice, Wilentz Senior Residence,

Wilf Transport,  and The Foundation at the

Wilf Campus. For more information, contact us at

(732) 568-1155 (tel:%28732%29%20568-1155), info@wilfcampus.org or visit us at

www.wilfcampus.org.