At 100 years old, Ann Lazarovich still enjoys a full life: going out to dinner with her son, playing cards with friends, and getting her hair done by her favorite stylist every week.
“I like to go outside and play with flowers,” Lazarovic said over brunch at Pancake House in Oak Forest, near his home. “I'll sit in my garage (with the door open) and enjoy the weather.
Lazarowitz and her son, Denny, celebrated her birthday on Wednesday with dinner at Isabella's Cafe in Tinley Park, but Denny also organized a big dinner and party for her last weekend at a local seafood restaurant for about 25 relatives, where she enjoyed lobster, one of her favorite foods.
I was also planning another birthday party for her with some friends.
“I'm happy,” she said with a gentle smile.
Ann Lazarowitz celebrated her 100th birthday last week with her son, Denny, at the Pancake House in Oak Forest. The two often go out to eat together. (Janice Newman/The Daily Southtown)
“She's probably doing fine,” Denny Lazarovich said of his recent visit to the doctor, who told him his mother has macular degeneration and has been taking blood pressure medication for years.
According to her son, Anne's longevity may have been down to her upbringing on a farm in Armstrong Creek, Wisconsin. Anne, her two sisters and two brothers grew up on a diet of vegetables and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every day. The children helped out on the farm, and her parents made a living by selling most of the meat and cream from their animals.
“My mother had a very difficult childhood,” his son said. “I think she's the type of person who appreciates even the smallest things.”
She loves flowers, so my son buys her fresh flowers every week.
“I don't want flowers when I die. I want them now,” Ann told her son recently.
She had a large yard when she, her husband, John, and their children, Diane and Denny, lived in Chicago before moving to Oak Forest.
They go grocery shopping every week at their local Jewel-Osco, where the store clerks know her and come up to her and give her hugs.
Previously, Anne was known for her sumptuous homemade dishes, including rum cake with buttercream frosting for dessert. She danced at Willowbrook Ballroom until her husband, John, passed away in 1991. She then met her new dancing partner and lover, with whom she remained until his death.
“I loved dancing — polka and all the other dances,” said Lazarowicz, whose parents are Polish immigrants.
Ann and John Lazarowitz are pictured shortly after their wedding, on display in Ann Lazarowitz's Oak Forest home. John died in 1991. (Janice Newman/The Daily Southtown)
She moved from the farm to Chicago where she met her husband after they both worked for a tool company.
He recalled that Anne would be strict with her son when he was mischievous, sometimes telling him to “wait until your father comes home.” But when his father did come home, she would give him “that look” and tell him to “listen to your mother.”
She also had a parenting role, caring for her daughter Diane when she was a baby and later in her life when she suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Ann Lazarowitz said she has a way of dealing with life's ups and downs.
“I take things as they are,” she said. “I don't get upset.”
She said Denny has been a huge help.
“He's easy to get along with and a lovely guy,” Anne says. “He grants me everything I want.”
Her son, who lives in Crestwood, said his father cooked dinner for the family when his mother was at work, that the two were loving and never went to bed angry.
Ann and Denny Lazarovich stand outside their Oak Forest home after celebrating her 100th birthday at a restaurant last week. (Janice Newman/The Daily Southtown)
Anne still lives alone and can walk up and down the stairs in her home and prepare simple meals such as toast and coffee for breakfast.
Denny comes over twice a day to check on her, brings her meals of spare ribs and shrimp (if she isn't going out), drives her to appointments and outings, and helps her with household chores.
“Mom, you wiped my ass when I was a kid, now it's my turn,” he joked.
But he also enjoys being with her.
“I'd ask her out and she'd say, 'Let's go,' and she'd put on makeup,” he said.
One of her favorite friends is Alice Breskin, who has done her hair in Orland Park for more than 50 years.
“We've been friends for many years and have watched our children and grandchildren grow up together,” Breskin said. “We've shared a lot together, including the death of her husband. She's a very warm, kind person to me, just a lovely, lovely woman.”
Janice Newman is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
