Meeting Lillian was like encountering a breath of fresh air as she graciously escorted us in, eyes beaming, and her face aglow. Hard to imagine she was 102 years of age, she must have stopped aging years ago. Her whole countenance radiated a smile even before her lips engaged. As you listen to her you realize throughout her life she must have always found a reason to smile.

“I never dreamed to live to be 102 years of age and nearly all my friends are all gone. I have out-lived all my relatives. I had 22 cousins. I’ve had a wonderful life traveling with my husband. By meeting a lot of different people around the world you learn a lot.

I am lucky that I can still think. All the different parts wear out, my eyes, my ears, I walk with a walker, but I go to the gym everyday and attend physical improvement three times a week. There’s a million things I can’t do because I can’t see, so the things I can do, I do. I can talk, I can eat. I live day by day because I really can’t plan much ahead. I have to be realistic. Nobody lives forever. I really have lived much longer then I dreamed would happen.

I just hope that the future generations would have a little peace in their lives and that they’d appreciate the Jewish people. Our people gave so much to the country and others, but instead, they, well I thought, that after the holocaust we’d never have any anti-semitism, or anything like that, but we do. So I just hope that it will be a peaceful future.”