PIKESVILLE, Md. — Take a look, maybe a passing glance, or you could stare at your significant other. Now imagine being with that person for 80 years!
What an amazing life led by Berta and Morris Geltman of Pikesville. “I thank God for a very devoted beautiful family,” said Berta. Morris was born in Poland.
He is now 104 years old. Berta was born in Lithuania and she just turned 100. Anti-Semitism chased them both from their homeland.
One afternoon, they met in the water off the coast of Cuba. She was swimming and Morris was right behind her. But little did he know, a “shark” was looming.
He was an American guy with deep pockets, but Morris would win the surf and turf tussle after a night of dancing. They married 80 years ago.
Hold on, check that, 81 years ago.
“See we married right before the war, so officially we were married in 42, but 41 was real. I have witnesses, but they are all dead,” said Berta.
In 1949, Morris won the lottery in Cuba. He took his winnings and opened a jewelry store. There, he repaired watches and clocks, but couldn’t repair a political system that over took his store when Castro took over.
As a result, they fled to Baltimore. The city could not understand his Spanish, so he and his family bolted for New York where he again worked on watches and clocks.
That business shut down, so he shifted to Miami and after a number of years, they decided to come back to Baltimore to be closer to family.
Berta loves to paint and watch the news. Morris likes to have a beer, Cuban coffee, a cigar and stays up all night reading.
He considers himself a professional dominoes player. They have two children, Jack and Ester. They have five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
They returned to Cuba to celebrate Morris’s 100th. He saw where he grew up. Where his store once stood. No tears. In fact, that is Berta’s wish. When their time runs out, her order is no tears. Until then, Morris reminds us all to turn our clocks back this weekend. Ironic for a man who spent his life repairing the hands of time to spend the rest of his time with the love of his life.
