Canton woman, 102, reflects on a lifetime of adventures

“Adventurous” and “daredevil” are good ways of describing Shirley Horowitz, resident of the Orchard Cove senior living community in Canton. Horowitz is also a storyteller, which is what first riveted fellow resident Ronnie Gold upon meeting Horowitz. Since that first encounter about two years ago, Gold has been fascinated with the vivid stories Horowitz tells about her life.

Shirley Horowitz at her home at Orchard Cove in Canton. (Candace Paris photo)

At 102, Horowitz can recount not only the time when, as a newlywed, she jumped at a chance to sign up for an open-cockpit plane ride but can also describe the building where she worked at her first job — including the number of steps it had outside. Horowitz seems to have always had strong visual awareness. She recalled that her adventures began in many cases with posted signs. If a sign promised a new, exciting activity, Horowitz couldn’t resist.

Once compelled, Horowitz set off, often alone because nobody in her family shared her daredevil approach. During that flight in the little plane, her new husband, Ruben, or “Ruby,” stayed on the ground, having declared that he would join her for “no money in the world.” Horowitz loved the experience, recalling that a single belt held her in and a white silk scarf functioned as a helmet. The plane ride, which cost $25, included a tour around a mountain and a loop, when the plane was briefly upside down.

Another time, traveling alone as a young woman near Elmira, New York for her job in market research, she saw a sign advertising soaring. Not knowing what that meant, she drove up a mountain and watched as another woman set off in a glider. Seeing it towed to the edge of the mountain, Horowitz thought to herself, “If she can do it, I can do it.” Once aloft, gliding on air currents, she was entranced by the silence and the beautiful farmland.

Even though Horowitz’s sons, Josh and Barry, and daughter Darlene were never as daring, they were happy to support their mother’s adventure habit. For one birthday, her sons gave her a Boston Harbor helicopter ride. Given the choice of helicopter doors off or on, Horowitz, true to form, chose the more adventurous option of having the helicopter doors off. “You could see everything. It was beautiful,” she said.

For her 90th birthday, she was given a flying lesson over Jones Beach on Long Island. Horowitz recalled climbing on a wing to get into the plane and once in the air, using her own controls to maneuver it, including banking (tilting) the aircraft. Her instructor’s controls allowed for overrides as needed, but Horowitz recalled the thrill of pulling back on the rudder at take-off.

Surprisingly, Horowitz never considered becoming a pilot. She was very active as a child, “always doing things,” sometimes breaking bones. She recalled playing punchball, a game similar to baseball, in the Brooklyn streets where she grew up; she later turned to tennis, which she taught at her children’s summer camp in the Catskills.

Her zest for life led her to explore the world. When her children were 15, 13, and 8, she and her husband took them on a cross-country trip. Describing it as “one of the best things we ever did,” Horowitz was pleased when her children became closer on the trip. Her daughter was fearful on a helicopter ride at Mt. Rushmore when Horowitz briefly took the controls, insisting, “Mommy, leave that alone!”

Horowitz went on more helicopter rides: over an erupting volcano in Hawaii, and at Iguazu Falls in Brazil, which she said “made Niagara Falls look like a bucket.” A New Jersey hot air balloon ride — including champagne — gifted by her daughter marked her 75th birthday. A sky diving experience at age 86 in Moab, Utah, featured a 30-second free fall, causing a temporary choking sensation from the wind into her open mouth. Other memorable adventures were a second soaring experience, this time in Israel, and zip-lining in Costa Rica through a deep forest with monkeys. Horowitz also loved traveling to the Swiss Alps, Gibraltar, the Egyptian pyramids plus a Nile boat ride, the Great Wall of China, and the Canadian Rockies.

Whenever she enthusiastically answered the call of adventure, Horowitz noted that she never forgot her religious practice as an Orthodox Jew, making sure she was on the ground and ready to celebrate the Sabbath before Friday evening sundown.

Another commitment was her late-in-life career. Returning to work at 50 years old, she got a job with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the U. S. Department of Labor, eventually rising to senior field economist. Her co-workers were the same age as her adult children, but she fit in so well that some of them even came to a 90th birthday party for her, 16 years after she had retired at 74. She retains her loyalty to the office, noting that contrary to some claims, the information it produces, like employment figures, is reliable and based on good data.

Horowitz has maintained her default upbeat approach despite loss and sadness. In 2008, her daughter, married and the mother of a young child, died from breast cancer. After a “very good marriage,” she lost Ruby to Alzheimer’s in 2011. Friends have died, so she is very appreciative of the ones who remain, many of whom are a generation younger. She is grateful to have her son, Barry, his wife, Michele, their two daughters and four great-grandchildren all living in the area.

Horowitz couldn’t think of anything she wasn’t able to do, noting, “I got my money’s worth out of this run!” For her part, Gold, who said she prefers shopping to adventure, enjoys the daredevil life vicariously, exclaiming, “Isn’t Shirley terrific!”

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Posted by Candace Paris on Sep 5 2025. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.