Murray H. Shusterman was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer article, "Centenarian Lawyer Murray Shusterman's Secret: Keep Going." Full text can be found in the July 20, 2014, issue, but a synopsis is below.
Murray Shusterman began practicing law in 1936 and he hasn't stopped working since. Shusterman, now 101 years old, still travels to the Philadelphia office of Fox Rothschild LLP each day, where he works on corporate and real estate matters.
"What? Retire? Sit in a rocking chair and wait to die?" Shusterman said. "All my life I've been active."
Shusterman has hardly slowed down with age, driving until he was 100 and playing golf until last year, his mind remains sharp and his passion for the law evident.
"Murray is part of the fabric of this firm," said Michael Menkowitz, Fox Rothschild's Philadelphia office managing partner. "I like to tease him when I see him walking out at 4 - 'What is this, a half day, Murray?'"
Having reached the century mark in age, Shusterman found that many people turn to him for life advice.
His answer: Pfft. The meaning of life? Life is not a riddle to be solved. It's an adventure to be embraced. Go forward. Try your best. Get involved in causes that matter.
"I did all the good things and all the bad things that a young fellow does," Shusterman said. "Except I had wonderful parents, and they gave me a sense of morality and generosity, and I've always acted accordingly."
When people learn Shusterman's age, they often congratulate him.
"And I say, 'For what?'" Shusterman said. "'Did I just win a big case? If you want to congratulate someone, congratulate my great-, great-, great-, great-grandfather who gave me the genes.'"
Passionate for the law, Shusterman believes it embodies "the dynamics of living, the progress or retrogressing that we're involved in."
Shusterman and his family have been deeply involved in various causes throughout the years, donating $1 million to Temple Law School in 1994 and donating another $1.1 million last year to sponsor a professorship at the school.
Asked to name the best and worst moments of his life, Shusterman declined.
"There's no such thing," he said. "A person has many experiences over time, some good, some bad. . . . The real secret is to be decent, to be fair, and to be forgiving - now and then even a friend will do something that annoys you. And don't take yourself too seriously."
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