94 year-old Lydia L. of Brookdale Olney was born in Wilbur, Nebraska in a heavily Czech community. Her parents were Czech immigrants and they grew up in extreme poverty; she was dirt poor most of her childhood. They were so poor that getting a single orange on Christmas was considered to be a big deal. Each child in the family only had one outfit of clothes to wear. Lydia would helped teach her parents English, and they eventually became U.S. citizens. Lydia’s Wish of a Lifetime is to have a Czech themed party to celebrate her heritage and reconnect with her past.
Lydia has been committed to service for her entire life. Lydia served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during WWII where she worked at a mapping agency. She spent a significant portion of her life as a teacher and tutored people in English throughout her life.
On July 9th, Lydia had a very special Czech party at her community. There was Czech food, a Czech choir, and traditional Czech costumes reminded Lydia of her days growing up in Wilbur, NE and the Czech culture that became such a big part of her life.
