For 100-year-old Sylvia Beller, the biggest lesson she has learned in her life is this: to follow your heart and listen to your body—with everything in moderation.
Born on May 18, 1926, the Bronx native remembers the quiet summers she spent as a child in Patchogue, when she and her cousin would hang out together. Although, it was not until the 1950s that she made Long Island her home. In the many decades she has resided within the region, Beller has seen her community endure the seasons and evolve with time. She was there for the big-tease hairdos and wigs, as well as the grand poodle skirts, girdles and penny loafers.
“Ever since then, Patchogue has been the center of the universe,” Beller told the Long Island Advance. “Everything I did, I came back to Patchogue. My whole life has always been Patchogue. My doctors, my friends, my shopping—anything and everything—and still is.”
Beller reminisced on the hours she had spent at her local movie theatre as a young girl, which would include a multi-feature production and souvenirs. She described how she watched Patchogue grow from a quaint, rural town to a bustling metropolis, all while maintaining its original charm.
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” Beller said. “To me, Patchogue has everything. It’s close enough to New York, it’s close enough to Montauk. You have the best schools, libraries, theaters, hospitals, trains. The beaches, the air, the sand.”
In the lessons she wishes to instill upon the family that follows her, Beller finds herself circling back to the importance of love.
“I believe in love, and it’s the strongest emotion that there is. You should listen to that.”
“But to my children, to my grandchildren, even more than that, just to be true to themselves and to love themselves. To be honest, and good, and kind—and the thing is, they are everything I wish for them.”
It is the earliest memories of her grandparents, however, that really taught her what true admiration looked like. “My grandmother would go to the train station where my grandfather was coming home, and if it was raining, she would bring him his rubber boots and an umbrella, so he wouldn’t get wet walking home. And I thought to myself, ‘I think I know what love is. I think this is love.”’
From then on, Beller affirmed that it was those actions of service that showed her that love transcended above words, and she could find it in herself and the family around her.
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