When 13-year-old Yuri Lee gave her first piano and violin performance at The Fountains at RiverVue, resident Arthur Howard took a front-row seat and encouraged her throughout her concert. That’s why when Howard turned 102, Yuri and her two best friends, Kara and Ella, surprised him with a special performance in his honor. “Arthur spoke to me at my first concert and has been an encouraging audience since then,” said Lee, an eighth-grader at Tuckahoe Middle School.
An aspiring film composer and Broadway pit orchestra player, she has gone on to give five more performances at the community. “Playing for him on his birthday was a great way to show my appreciation.” Howard, a WWII Army veteran, loves working with youth. He taught high school biology for 30 years and for part of that time, also had an optometry practice at night. Another of his passions is performing magic; his skills have captured an award for lifetime achievement from The Society of American Magicians. Arthur looks forward to his daily exercise programs and is the
only man taking part in the community’s Zumba classes. He also enjoys reading online media and checking out YouTube.
Our Executive Director, Stephanie Walters said, “The relationship they’ve built and this event are wonderful examples of our philosophy of purposeful living. Making new friends and giving to others are important, rewarding and possible at any age and they are central to our mission.”
Click here for the video published on ABC News 7 on October 19th, 2018.
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