ZECIL AT 97: “I have a lot to live for”

Zecil Gravitz thinks often about future generations. She does so with good reason. She recently welcomed her fifth great-grandchild.  As she discusses the recent birth of the newest family member, she underscores the wonder of continuity.

“My son just became a grandfather!”

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Zecil’s father, a physician, earnestly wanted his daughter to follow in his professional footsteps. Zecil was less enthusiastic, but she went through the motions. She enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania and majored in chemistry. It was 1938 and Zecil was one of only three women on a pre-med track.

A week after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in 1942, Zecil went to work in the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a chemist. As the country prepared for war, she learned that the Navy was accepting women for the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVE).

Zecil proudly enlisted, happy to set a good example for her two younger siblings. Entering the Navy also curbed any expectation that she would be immediately seeking admission to medical school. After attended the nine-week officers’ training at Smith College, she was assigned to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

“I discovered that I was the first Jewish WAVE Officer to be stationed there.”

Zecil joined a small, Philadelphia-based team at the Office of Procurement and Material, under the Secretary of the Navy. They were responsible for gathering resources to enable the Navy to complete its missions. This was decades before Google. Zecil and her colleagues spent innumerable hours on the telephone fulfilling requests. Zecil recalls that most often, they were looking for steel beams to construct more ships.

Zecil remembers one particularly important search. She was asked for resources to assist President Roosevelt when he traveled to Yalta in 1945 to confer with Premier Joseph Stalin and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

“I found white rubber matting to help the President maneuver his wheelchair and a special bathtub for his plane.”

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Prior to D-Day, Zecil went on a blind date with Sidney Gravitz. Although they would later be married, Zecil was underwhelmed during their first encounter.

 “Sidney was a dentist, but he seemed too immature.”

That would soon change. Like many in the armed services, Sidney grew up quickly during the war years.

Sidney was a member of an anti-tank corps responsible for scouting out situations ahead of the troops. He had a front row seat for many of the war’s most challenging events. He arrived in Normandy just days after D-Day. He served in the Battle of the Bulge. He was part of the victory in Aachen, which was the first German city to be captured by the Allies. Sidney was also among the troops that liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. He never shared any details about that mission.

Zecil and Sidney married in 1946. For Zecil, the tumult of the war years put to final rest any lingering thoughts about pursing medical school.

“All I wanted to be at this time was a mother. I’d had enough war. My sole interest was to have a family and make a better life for them.”

 The Gravitz’s lived in Philadelphia while raising their two children. Ellen picked up the medical school baton and became a doctor. Michael has devoted his career advocating for clean water.

In 1971, Zecil and Sidney left Pennsylvania and moved to Florida. They remained there for 41 years. North Miami had a high concentration of older adults and a limited number of dentists. It was a perfect community for Sidney’s dental practice.

After deliberating for five years, the couple decided in 2012 to pack up and head north.They moved to a senior community located in Boston near their children.  Zecil and Sidney were pleased with the decision to relocate. They enjoyed three years together in their new location until Sidney’s death in 2015.

Zecil has since remained in their apartment. She devotes much of her time to activities that reflect her concern for the future. She continues her decades-long involvement with Hadassah, an international organization that supports health initiatives in Israel as well as numerous causes in the US. Zecil also actively works with other residents to raise funds to send support staff from their senior community to college. Impressively, to date, they have assisted nearly 20 individuals.

Just recently, Zecil’s most cherished project was finalized. She became the caretaker of a Holocaust Torah, a scroll that had been rescued when the Nazis and their supporters destroyed a Czechoslovakian synagogue.

Zecil has requested that Shir Shalom in Woodstock, VT become the new home for the Torah. This was the Gravitz’s congregation when they had a home in the area. It will remain Shir Shalom for the life of the synagogue. Zecil and her family will be in attendance when the Torah is dedicated during High Holiday services.

Zecil is humbled by this gift. Essentially, she is providing a safe and loving home for a Torah that endured the ravages of a war, a war that almost caused the annihilation of the Jewish people.

Sharing Zecil’s zeal for continuity, the congregation has thoughtfully considered how to connect youth to this sacred scroll.

“The children at Shir Shalom will do the research to learn this Torah’s history and discover how it journeyed from a little Czech town to a little town in Vermont.”

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Last year was the first time that Zecil started to feel old.

“I began noticing that I’m forgetting things. It’s frustrating, but I won’t allow myself to get depressed. I know I can’t cross that line.”

 At 97, she is open about the effort it takes to manage daily tasks that were once routine.

“It requires a lot of mental and physical energy to get myself up and out. There are days when I could stay in bed, but I won’t give in to those urges.”

 Zecil has important reasons for continuing to be engaged in life.

“I have three generations to enjoy. I adore them all. I want them to remember me in the best way possible. I have a lot to live for.”