BIOGRAPHY

Lillian Braun was born in Brotmanville, New Jersey, USA, on 16 August 1905, to parents Jacob Greenblatt (1860–1935) and Goldie Verba (1861–1949). Her parents were immigrants from Kovel, in present-day Ukraine. One of her older sisters, Mollie Rachel Kravitz (1893–1994), died weeks shy of her 101st birthday. Her father was a cabinetmaker who moved from New York to Philadelphia to Vineland in search of work that would allow him to observe the Sabbath. In 1890, he settled in Alliance Colony, a Jewish agricultural community. After constructing many of the houses in Brotmanville, he transitioned to becoming a kosher butcher. The Greenblatts’ home was located just a block away from the Brotmanville synagogue. Lillian moved with her parents to Vineland in 1920.

On 25 November 1925, at 20, she married Benjamin Braun (1897–1969), and the couple had three children: Muriel, Mike and Jack, who have all predeceased her. She owned Braun’s Junior Clothing Shop in Vineland, New Jersey, before selling the store and working for National Freight. Throughout her life, she was involved in numerous charitable organizations, including Beth Israel Synagogue, Newcomb Medical Center, the UJA, and the American Cancer Society. At the age of 90, she relocated to Rockville, Maryland, where she continued her service to others at the Ring House and Washington Adventist Hospital.

Braun passed away in Rockville, Maryland, USA, on 20 October 2015, at the age of 110 years, 65 days. She was survived by two daughters-in-law, 11 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Anri K., Jimmy Lindberg, and Eli Logan, and validated by LongeviQuest on 3 March 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

* “The Last of the Jewish Farmgirls” – The New York Times, 22 June 2005

* “We Bought an Average Farm in New Jersey. Or So We Thought.” – The Forward, 5 August 2015

* Lillian Braun Obituary – Legacy.com, 23 October 2015

* Lillian (Greenblatt) Braun (1905 – 2015) – WikiTree

* Lillian Greenblatt Braun – Find A Grave

GALLERY