Salem’s Liveliest Centenarian

Salem —  


— She remembers her first parade… It featured the airplane flown by the Wright Brothers. She remembers the sinking of the Titanic, knitting blankets for soldiers fighting in World War I and the molasses tank explosion in Boston. She remembers the influenza outbreak of 1918 and the bags of camphor she wore around her neck to “ward off the germs.”

Anne Kemelman was born in Denmark in 1909 and moved to Boston’s West End the following year. At 100 years old, she can recall the names of every family in her old neighborhood. She remembers the name of her first schoolteacher, the name of the librarian at the West End library and the butcher. She recalls the first phone call she ever made, her first apartment with electricity, and when everything was driven by horses.

Anne Kemelman grew up in Boston, but she calls Marblehead her true home. In 1926, she married Harry Kemelman and had three children before moving to Humphrey Street in the early 1950s. For 57 years, she devoted her life to Harry, who became well-known for writing the best-selling “Rabbi Small” mystery series (e.g. ‘Friday the Rabbi Slept Late’), and to raising her children, Ruth (now living in Swampscott, married to George Rooks), Arthur (living in Hod Hasharon, Israel and married to Ziona Kemelman) and Diane (living in New York City and married to Stephen Volk). When Harry passed away in 1996, she decided it was now “her time.” She took up painting, displaying her significant artistic abilities. She acquired new sets of friends of all ages and began joining them in local activities and on trips. She had to get a cell phone so her family could keep track of her.

So what do you do to celebrate 100 years of living? If you’re Anne Kemelman, the question is what don’t you do?

First, you make sure your entire family is there to celebrate with you — even if half of them have to fly in from Israel for the occasion. Next, you stretch out the festivities over a period of two weeks. You’d enjoy performances from your eight greatgrandchildren. You’d attend a party in your honor for 200 of your closest friends and enjoy a surprise performance by the Marblehead High School marching band. You’d watch a film of your life that you narrated and you’d relish every minute of it.

Anne Kemelman is remarkable. She keeps up with friends, goes to Tanglewood, and is the first out the door when there’s a concert or a play. Her secret to living so long? She attributes that to good genes, being raised with a lot of love and always having a positive outlook.

Anne Kemelman has no plans of slowing down and is already planning her next birthday bash.

Jennifer Dolin is Anne Kemelman’s granddaughter.