NORTHAMPTON — Rosalyn “Roz” Cilman isn’t quite sure about self-driving cars. But then again, since she was born on April 21, 1918, she’s seen a few things change.
“The whole world has changed,” Roz said the day before her 100th birthday. “We sent people to the moon, have done so many things we never even thought were possible when I was growing up.”
Her son, Bob Cilman, is the director of the Young@Heart Chorus, which will celebrate Roz’s milestone birthday in a concert on Saturday. The chorus strives to present a positive image of aging through music, with chorus members of a certain age presenting songs not commonly sung by older people.
The day before her birthday, the Christopher Heights of Northampton assisted living home threw Roz a party that overflowed with guests spilling into two rooms. After singing the traditional “Happy Birthday” song, the revelers sang a Polish birthday song “Sto Lat,” which translates roughly to “live for 100 years,” and said they’d need a translator to change it to 110.
“We wanted to do something special for her,” said Diane Godek, director of social services for Christopher Heights. “She’s our first resident to turn 100.”
With balloons, roses and a brightly frosted cake, Roz sat at a head table surrounded by her two sons, Bob and Alan, her granddaughter Courtney and her best friend Nannette “Nanny” Vonnegut. The gathered friends applauded and cheered as she blew out the candles with a little help from son Alan.
Adorned in a resplendent royal blue dress with a pearl necklace and matching pearl earrings, Roz spent the last week selecting her outfits for the weekend festivities and concert, with the help of Vonnegut.
“She has more endurance than most of us,” Vonnegut said. “And she’s just so dear. I keep joking with her, trying to get her to tell her son Bob to jokingly ‘shut up’ but the words won’t pass her lips. She’s just that kind.”
Vonnegut said she’s looking forward to the Young@Heart tribute concert because she said Bob always throws in a surprise.
Bob said the chorus has been spending time singing in prisons recently and has picked up some new tunes that they’ll display on Saturday.
As for his mother’s birthday, Bob said he’s most happy that Roz made the move to Northampton, shortly before she turned 99, from her home of Rochester, New York, where she was born and lived all her life.
“She thought leaving Rochester would be like falling off the face of the earth,” Bob said, laughing. “But she’s flourished here. She’s friends with many of the chorus members and the people at Christopher Heights are really recognizing her potential.”
Roz had a career as a bookkeeper in Rochester, first for her father’s hardware store and then for the meat market run by her husband, Ben Cilman, whom she was married to for 56 years until his death in 1998. She said she’s always been good with numbers, and before her birthday party at Christopher Heights, Bob teased his mother with math calculations. She’s never needed a calculator, he said.
“I didn’t think I would make it this long,” Roz said. “I really didn’t.”
“Well, we all had no doubt that you would,” Alan said. He traveled from Vienna, Virginia to celebrate his mother’s birthday, while his daughter Courtney came from Venice Beach, California.
“This is boding very well for my genetics,” Courtney said. “I’m liking this a lot.”
As for the future? Roz said she thinks someone really ought to be watching over self driving cars. Her first car was an Essex, a car made between 1919 and 1933 that has been credited with starting the first trend of enclosed passenger cars, rather than open touring cars.
“I’m most looking forward to being healthy and being with my family,” she said.
“Welcome to Your Life: Roz Turns 100” will be a concert open to the public performed by the Young@Heart Chorus on April 21 at 8 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre. Information and tickets can be found at youngatheartchorus.com.
M.J. Tidwell can be reached at mjtidwell@gazettenet.com.