A milestone birthday

East Meadow's Claire Michaels turns 100

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Claire Michaels still vividly remembers the Great Kanto earthquake, which struck Japan in 1923, killing nearly 100,000 people.

Then 9 years old, she had recently moved to Japan with her family: father Francis, mother Josephine, and brother Frank (her younger brother, David, would be born two years later).

When the shaking began, she was upstairs with Frank, and said she remembers becoming very afraid. Her housekeeper shouted to her, “Get down!” and the house collapsed shortly after, injuring Claire’s leg.

But she and her family survived the quake, and less than a year later, were back living in Rochester, where Claire was raised.

On Nov. 2, Michaels, now a resident of Sunrise Senior Living on Glenn Curtiss Boulevard in East Meadow, turned 100.

The senior facility celebrated her birthday with a party, and the Michaels family arrived to spend it with her, including Claire’s daughter Meris; granddaughter Erica and her husband David; and great-grandchildren, Kari, 7, and Ava, 1.

Born as Claire Vonkantuscher in 1914, she married Raymond Michaels on March 14, 1936. The couple also had a son, Eric (Erica’s father), who died.

Meris, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland and works for United Nations, said she enjoys having the opportunity to still speak with her mother, and visits her multiple times a year. “She’s still sharp,” Meris said. “It’s great she gets to see her great-grandchildren.”

Kari added that she enjoys listening to her great grandmother. “I like that she has a lot of nice stories,” she said.

Michaels worked as an administrator for South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside. She also volunteered as a driver for many years for the American Red Cross.

After a stint in Manhattan, she and Raymond moved to Park Avenue in East Meadow in the mid 1960s. Raymond died in 2002.

In 2003, Michaels relocated to Sunrise Senior Living. She said she enjoys it there, but added, “I’d rather be working. I miss it.”

Michaels said she also used to do a lot of traveling, and that her favorite place she’s visited is Vienna, Austria.

“I have a lot of happy memories with my grandparents,” said Erica, adding that she enjoys reading the classic books Claire left around her home. “I learned a lot from them growing up.”