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Valley Stream resident "just happy to be here" at 100 years old

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Edna Shostak celebrated a life that has seen nearly the entirety of the 20th century and 14 years into the 21st century on Aug. 29 as friends and family gathered at the Bristal of North Woodmere for her 100th birthday bash.

It was a surprise for Shostak, who was unaware there was a party in her honor that afternoon. As family and friends gathered around her she smiled and played with her 2-year-old great grandson, Ethan Post. When asked what her secret to such a long and happy life was, Shostak was stumped. “I don’t have any secrets,” she said, “I’m just happy to be here, even still at 100 years old.

Joining Shostak at the celebration were her daughter, Lucy Shostak, a former physical education teacher in the Massapequa School District; her three grandchildren, Sarah Shostak, Adam Shostak and Susanna Post; and her great grandson, Ethan. Lucy said that she took something important from her mother’s experience. “I really learned from how loving she became as she got older, I think that is the biggest thing she taught me,” she said.

Shostak also had a second daughter, Marjorie, whom she outlived. Marjorie was a leader in women’s studies, serving as an associate of the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard. She authored two books; “Nisa: The Life and Words of a Kung Woman,” and a follow-up, “Nisa Revisited.”

Post also said that she learned a lot from her grandmother, reflecting during the celebration on the lessons she passed down. “She always was trying her hardest to teach me the value of a dollar and the importance of money. Its definitely something I’ve listened to her talk about often and something that helped me.”

Post said that she hopes that her son, Shostak’s great-grandson, takes on some of her qualities, “She really taught me how to live strongly. I would love for Ethan to learn how to be a strong person from her.”

Shostak, who graduated from Brooklyn College before going on to work as a biology lab assistant at Thomas Jefferson and James Madison high schools in Brooklyn, was married for over 60 years to fellow educator Jerome Shostak, who served as an English teacher and guidance counselor in New York City.

The surprise party was not the only honor that Shostak received as she began the second century of her life. She received a letter from the First Lady, Michelle Obama, a few days earlier, congratulating her on her long life and wishing her health in the future.