Gainesville man celebrates 102nd birthday

Larry Jaffe sitting in front of his computer watching the Gators basketball game. Photo by Ronnie Lovler
Larry Jaffe sitting in front of his computer watching the Gators basketball game.
Photo by Ronnie Lovler

So, what if he’s turning 102? That doesn’t stop Larry Jaffe.

Larry Jaffe, who produced one film at the age of 98, is hepped up about a second film venture titled “Puppies from Heaven” at a time when most folks would be happy to kick back and take things easy.

But not Jaffe, who turned 102 on Sunday, Feb. 2. When asked how he felt about making it this far, he replied, “Unbelievable. Getting this old is a surprise to me. But it’s good to be here.”

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Jaffe said his new film, “Already in the can, is about puppies coming from heaven with a mission to provide solace to people who have just lost loved ones. There won’t be a dry eye in the house. Just the title itself is going to get a lot of interest.”

A poster of Larry Jaffe’s film is displayed on his apartment wall.  Photo by Ronnie Lovler
Photo by Ronnie Lovler A poster of Larry Jaffe’s film is displayed on his apartment wall.  

His first film, “The Girl Who Believes in Miracles,” came into being when he and his partners purchased the rights to make the book into the movie. His son, Jon Jaffe, president of Lennar Corporation, provided much of the funding.

Although the movie got good reviews, Jaffe said its release coincided with the start of the COVID pandemic.

“The movie was a big hit with everyone who saw it,” he said. “We got a high Rotten Tomatoes score but very low in theatergoers.”

Jaffe is not alone as a centenarian in the United States. The Pew Research Center reports the number of Americans ages 100 and older was estimated at 101,000 in 2024 and is expected to quadruple to about 422,000 in 2054, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections.

So, what keeps Jaffe going? 

“My wonderful family,” he said, noting that he is a father to one daughter and three sons, all successful professionals. “They are so special.”

He also brags about his grandchildren – particularly twins living in Gainesville.

“They are very bright,” he said. “They both have been nominated to the National Honor Society.”

His 102nd birthday party was planned as a small family affair with children and grandchildren at the home of his son, Edward Jaffe, an orthopedic surgeon in Gainesville. Nothing, he said, like the big bash held for his 100th birthday at The Village, where he has lived for the past 10 years. Small and intimate is the way he wants it now.

Sometimes he writes poetry, like a poem he said he shared with Rabbi Michael Joseph of Shir Shalom synagogue during the 2024 Passover dinner Jaffe attended. What does he write poetry about?

“Maybe a special new granddaughter,” he said, smiling after I told him I would soon become a first-time grandmother.

Larry Jaffe at 2024 Passover services at Temple Shir Shalom with Rabbi Michael Joseph peering over his shoulder. Photo courtesy of Vera Rabino
Photo courtesy of Vera Rabino Larry Jaffe at 2024 Passover services at Temple Shir Shalom with Rabbi Michael Joseph peering over his shoulder.

Jaffe stays busy, ensconced in his chair in front of the computer in his small apartment at The Village.

“I’m on the computer every day,” Jaffe said. “Primarily political news. I’m very sad these days. I don’t look at the news as much as I used to. Where our country is going scares the hell out of me.”

He’s also a big Gators fan.

“I love sports. I’m very happy with the UF basketball team this year,” he said as he watched the Gators play and win against the University of Georgia on the day I visited him.

Jaffe was born Feb. 2, 1923, in the Bronx, the son of Mary and Edward Jaffe, immigrants from what then was the Russian/Polish border area that is now Lithuania. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War. He graduated with a BA magna cum laude from Dartmouth in 1946 and from Columbia University with a master’s degree in business in 1948.

He married Hope Susan Mosheim that same year, and they had four children who grew up to become an educator, a doctor, an engineer and a CEO. He worked as a market research analyst most of his career, living in Mount Vernon, New York, and then in Miami before moving to Gainesville in 2012.

So, who is Larry Jaffe? In the words of his son Edward, “he is a loving family man, an avid Gator fan, a diehard liberal and an eternal optimist.”

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Jim Harper

an inspiration.