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WHEREAS, Ms. Emma Alper was born on May 5, 1924, in Orsha, Belarus to Haya and Moishe (Moses) Alper, and celebrated her 100th birthday on May 5, 2024; and,
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WHEREAS, she is the youngest of four children. Her three siblings were brothers Mulya and Haim and sister Tanya. She is the only living immediate family member; and,
WHEREAS, growing up, she had a large family that supported each other, like one big community living in the same house; and,
WHEREAS, Ms. Alper studied dentistry at a college in Chelyabinsk and practiced in Russia for 48 years, and she also studied music in Russia and is an accomplished pianist who still plays today; and,
WHEREAS, Ms. Alper married Efim Ryzhik in July 1946 after two months of dating, after which the couple was married for 47 years until Efim's passing in 1993, and they had two children, Alik (Alex) Alper and Lina (Alper) Eydinova; and,
WHEREAS, Ms. Alper fled antisemitism in Russia in 1993 and came to live at Murray Towers to be closer to her son, Alex, who moved to the Pittsburgh area in the early 1980s; and,
WHEREAS, when she came to America, she was alone, sick and knew no English, wearing a note that Lina wrote for her to seek help, and has since learned enough English to communicate with fellow residents and staff; and,
WHEREAS, Ms. Alper enjoys cooking Russian dishes, listening to classical music, playing the piano, reading literature, going for walks on nice days, and especially spending time with her family, which includes one granddaughter and two great-grandchildren; and,
WHEREAS, she credits her longevity to living in the United States where they take such good care of older people, and every morning, she wakes up and says, “God bless America;” and,
WHEREAS, she enjoys living in Murray Towers because everyone is so friendly and it's very clean, and she also would like to thank her team of ComForCare Senior Services staff who help take care of her, as well as help with cleaning and errands; and,
WHEREAS, after a birthday celebration with her family on May 5th, a celebration for her 100th birthday will also be held by the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh on May 16th;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare May 16, 2024, to be “Emma Alper Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.