Area Resident Honored At 100 In Freehold Township Proclamation

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — Centenarian Sofia Kossower, a resident of Manalapan and a native of Ukraine, is known to say: “Age doesn’t mean a thing, and you can’t predict the future,” says The Jewish Home where she recently stayed.

Apparently, age has not changed her dedication to family and friends, as she marked her 100th birthday recently.

And as for not being able to predict the future, Kossower's life took many challenging turns along the way.

She lived through World War II and its aftermath in Western Europe, then emigrated from Europe to America. She built a life and family in Brooklyn, and now lives with a son in Manalapan.

Kossower celebrated her 100th birthday with family and staff at The Jewish Home for Rehabilitation & Nursing in Freehold Township, where she was staying temporarily for therapy. She is now home following a successful rehab experience, the facility says.

And her milestone birthday did not unnoticed by the local governing body.

Freehold Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano presented Kossower with a Freehold Township proclamation during the festivities.

“Sofia radiates positivity,” said The Jewish Home’s Dana DeRobertis, director of life enrichment. “It was our delight to have Sofia with us at The Jewish Home and celebrate this milestone birthday with her and her family. Our thanks to Committeeman Ammiano for joining us and presenting Sofia with this special proclamation.”

The Jewish Home, located at 1151 W. Main St., provides post-hospital care, short-term rehab and long-term residential care. More information on The Jewish Home can be accessed at jewishhomefreehold.org.

Kossower lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., for 68 years before moving to Manalapan to live with her son, Jerry.

Born on Nov. 30, 1923, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Kossower relocated with her parents, brother and sister to Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia during World War II.

When the war ended, she attended nursing school and worked in a hospital, where she met her husband Jack. The couple married and moved around Western Europe with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).

In 1952, HIAS assisted the couple in immigrating to the United States with their six-year-old daughter, Ida. The family settled in Brooklyn, where they welcomed twin boys, Harry and Jerry, and Jack bought a grocery store. The couple was married for 48 years before his passing in 1994.

For Kossower, family remains one of her greatest joys, the staff at the rehab said. She now has five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

“We hosted every holiday at our home,” said Kossower, who also has fond memories of taking cruises with her husband and playing cards with friends. “I just love being surrounded by people.”