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Laguna Woods resident endured horrors of Holocaust and got a fresh start in the U.S.

Then and now: Laguna Woods resident Helen Weil plays accordion as a young woman and today, 80 years apart. Weil turned 101 this year. She survived the Nazis in Germany but lost her parents and older sister. (Photo by Daniella Walsh)

When [Helen] Weil was in her 90s, she enrolled in the 90+ Study, a UC Irvine program initiated in 2003 to study “the oldest-old.” The program started in 1981 as the Leisure World Cohort Study, in which Leisure World residents in their 90s filled out surveys about what contributed to their longevity. … UCI researchers visit participants every six months to chart their physical health and memory functions. … Weil’s age group, 90 and above, was featured in CBS’ “60 Minutes” with Leslie Stahl, first in 2014 and again in 2020.

Learn more about The 90+ Study here >

Read more from The Orange County Register here >

Laguna Woods resident endured horrors of Holocaust and got a fresh start in the U.S.