Brian Litwak Brian Litwak, 75, has gone through life coping with poor health. Nine years ago, following quadruple bypass surgery and suffering from diabetes, he came from Los Angeles to Handmaker Services for the Aging, brought here by his younger brother. “No one told me I was supposed to die,” says… Read more »
Alzheimer’s disease is a dreaded brain disease that afflicts an estimated 5 million Americans — mostly people over 65 — and half of people over 85. Feared more than cancer by most people, Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase exponentially as the baby boomer generation swells the ranks of… Read more »
Bubbes Marlyne Freedman and Sharon Klein enjoy breakfast at the Sunny Daze Cafe. Breakfast is touted as the most important meal of the day. It starts us off each day on the right foot and sustains us until lunch. Marlyne Freedman, senior vice president of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and I have taken this motto to heart and have met… Read more »
Brownie Ebner at a party for her 100th birthday on Nov. 11, 2011 at Atria Campana del Rio. (Sheila Wilensky) Brownie Ebner turned 100 on Nov. 11. “Why is everybody making such a big deal? If I could take credit for curing cancer or something like that I’d brag about it. What do I have to brag about?” she asked the AJP last month, sitting in her tidy… Read more »
In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, the nonprofit National Private Duty Association will host a free consumer education web conference, “Creating a Care Plan for Your Parents,” on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. EST. The live, interactive program will provide advice on how family caregivers can work with… Read more »
Fran Donnellan It’s probably one of the most important yet dreaded conversations you can have with an aging parent, and it often begins something like this: “You should NOT be driving.” Not surprisingly, the conversation usually goes downhill from there. In this column, I’ll outline some information and suggestions to help… Read more »
Lillian Silverman at her 100th birthday party with her grandson from Tucson, Jeff Jacobson, and his wife, Rachel, and son, Sam, in 2010. (Courtesy Alan Jacobson) On July 4, 2011, the Brooklyn borough president proclaimed the day “Lillian Silverman, 101st Birthday Celebration Day.” The Arizona Jewish Post learned of this energetic senior’s special recognition through her family, many of whom reside in Tucson. From children through great-grandchildren, three generations have inherited Lillian Rudnick Silverman’s generous… Read more »
(Tel Aviv) — Working out can help you shed pounds — but that’s just the beginning. New research from Tel Aviv University has found that “endurance exercises,” like a Central Park jog or a spinning class, can make us look younger. Exercise unlocks the stem cells of our muscles.… Read more »
Fran Donnellan If you’re a baby boomer lucky enough to have aging parents, chances are you’ve been noticing changes in your parents’ activity level, health, diet or mental state. You want to help, but you’re not always sure how. You need information, but don’t always know where to turn. In this… Read more »
Sharon Arkin (Sheila Wilensky) In her 40s, Sharon Arkin had an epiphany. “I can still do the kinds of things I did when I was 18,” she realized. “I’ve never really changed very much.” Arkin, who turned 72 last month, maintains a list of activities that might stagger an 18-year-old. She’s a clinical… Read more »
Tucsonan Bobby Present, right, defeated Barry Danser of London, left. (Courtesy Bobby Present) Tucsonan Bobby Present competed in the Maccabi Games in Vienna, Austria, this summer, playing in the masters tennis men’s 55+ category — and doing well until an injury forced him to default for the first time in his tennis career. “It was unfortunate timing,” he told the AJP, because… Read more »
Lillian Mizrahi, left, one of many Peace Corps volunteers over age 50, poses with her Macedonian host "mother" -- who is younger than Mizrahi. (Peace Corps) Lillian Mizrahi is not your typical Peace Corps volunteer. A Jewish woman from the Bronx who is now 69 years old, Mizrahi first considered joining 40 years ago, when she moved to Los Angeles from New York, but her life got busy with children and a career. “Two years… Read more »
Alene Schwartz has lost more than 125 pounds in three years. (Bryan Schwartz) Alene Schwartz weighed 265 pounds in 2008 when she embarked on an exercise and diet — or as she says, “live it” — program. “I just decided that as I got older, I wanted to have the strength to pick up a grandchild, bend down to get something, and… Read more »
Tel Aviv — Scientists today agree that there are five molecules that are known to affect or cause Alzheimer’s disease, which plagues an estimated five million Americans. The potency of these molecules is linked to environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. Professor Daniel Michaelson of Tel Aviv University’s… Read more »
Terry Perl Terry Allen Perl started his career in 1969 operating summer camps and day programs for the physically and mentally challenged. The Baltimore native joined Chimes International, a multi-service agency for the disabled, as its first residential director in 1971. His four-decade career at Chimes, he says, helped define his… Read more »
Sandy Heiman (left) and Myra Dinnerstein While sickness, care-giving and other negative scenarios have long been associated with aging, there’s another side to the story. “There’s a certain amount of freedom getting older. I decided it was a good thing, although I had approached it with a certain amount of trepidation,” says Tucsonan Sandy Heiman,… Read more »
Stephen Stone (Sheila Wilensky/AJP) Tucsonan Stephen Stone, 70, conducted what may have been one of the first studies of obesity in American children, a precursor to First Lady Michelle Obama’s current childhood health mission. “Childhood Obesity: Identification, Management and Prevention,” his research project that began in 1985 at the University of Maryland, identified… Read more »
Olympia Dukakis and her husband, Louis Zorich, urge older Americans to get free diabetes screenings. (StatePoint) — Could you have diabetes and not know it? Approximately seven out of 10 adults aged 65 or older have diabetes or pre-diabetes and many don’t know it. Almost half of older Americans with diabetes aren’t aware they have the disease. Fortunately, Medicare has been offering free diabetes… Read more »
Former Tucsonan Harvey Brooks, 65, a bass guitarist who once played with Bob Dylan, is among a growing number of older American Jews making aliyah. In 1948, Harold Levine of the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn was rumbling through Israel’s Negev Desert in a mobile dental clinic servicing recruits of the fledgling Israeli army. He did not know it would take him more than 60 years to fulfill his dream of making the country his… Read more »
Elsa Leibovitz receives a blessingfrom Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon of Temple Emanu-El on her 100th birthday, June 25. (Joe Steiner) Elsa Leibovitz celebrated her 100th birthday on June 25 in grand style by receiving a blessing from Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon at Temple Emanu-El’s Friday night service and sponsoring the evening’s Oneg Shabbat. “It’s wonderful to reach this age,” Leibovitz told the AJP by phone on the morning of… Read more »
