Armonk Family Celebrates Four Generations, Upcoming Milestone

It isn’t commonplace for an almost 100-year-old man and a three-year-old girl to attend the same school.

But Dr. Alex Glassman, who will hit the century mark on May 11, and his great-granddaughter, Darby Schlosser, can make that claim.

Glassman, who retired more than 25 years ago as chief of anesthesia at White Plains Hospital, is a regular participant in the Thursday afternoon Yiddish Vinkle class at the Rosenthal JCC in Pleasantville, rekindling his interest in the language he first learned from his elders as a child. Schlosser attends the 3s class at the JCC’s Early Childhood Center.

On March 6, they were together, along with Glassman’s daughter, Rollyn Dritz, and his granddaughter, Alyson Schlosser, in the same room to celebrate his approaching milestone. Glassman read to his great-granddaughter’s class and then received help from Darby in blowing out candles on a birthday cake in the 4s class a short time later.

The special activities were held in commemoration of the 100th day of school for 2012-13.

“To me, he’s one of these people, when he walks in the room and the whole room lights up,” said Ann Pardes, director of the JCC. “He just has a charisma and a warmth about him. Our families were in tears today when they found out what we were doing, the concept of bringing in a 100-year-old man to be with young children. It’s incredible.”

What’s even more unusual is that the four generations live together in Armonk. Alyson Schlosser, her husband and two children–they also have an eight-year-old son, Brady–have recently had Glassman move in with them since his wife, Selma, has encountered health problems. The Glassmans, who will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in October, spent winters in Florida the past 30 years and still have their house in South Salem. Meanwhile, Dritz lives in another residence on the property.

Alyson Schlosser said having the multiple generations together has not only been a help to her and her husband who both work fulltime but for their children who get to cherish special memories with their grandparents and great-grandparents that not many people get to experience.

“They come home from school and they say hi to them because they live with us,” she said. “They wake up every morning and see their great-grandfather and they go to sleep and they see their great-grandmother. It’s awesome.”

Glassman shrugged his shoulders when asked about his longevity. He said he’s pretty certain that heredity has played a key role. His father lived into his 90s.

“If the genes come out okay and in the right combination you live a little longer, that’s all,” Glassman said.

Glassman, who grew up in the Bronx, went to NYU and decided to become a doctor. He pursued anesthesiology because of circumstances.

“It was wartime and there was a need for anesthesiologists and I had a yen for it and I gradually drifted into it,” he recalled.

Soon there will be three generations of doctors in the family, Glassman proudly pointed out. His son is currently chief of urology at White Plains Hospital and a granddaughter is currently an intern in Boston.

Alyson Schlosser and Dritz agreed that it is Glassman’s health and mobility that stands out. He still plays nine holes of golf in the warm weather and will hopefully return to the links when he turns 100. Glassman also enjoys reading, crossword puzzles and, of course, playing with his great-grandchildren.

“He’s superman,” Schlosser said. “He really is.”