Overview:
Lee Evers, a World War II veteran, was honored as Montague's oldest resident at the age of 102 with the Boston Post cane. The Gill-Montague Senior Center hosted an afternoon of music and socializing to celebrate the occasion, which is hoped to become an annual tradition.
MONTAGUE — At 102, Lee Evers takes the cane as the oldest Montague resident in 2025.
To celebrate the occasion, the Gill-Montague Senior Center hosted an afternoon of music and socializing to start what is hoped to be a yearly tradition of honoring the town’s oldest residents with the Boston Post cane.
Evers, with his outgoing personality and active lifestyle, was excited to accept the cane, telling the room of his peers how special he felt to be recognized this way.
“Each one of you folks who came here today, I personally want to thank you. You make me feel special and good, and I love you,” he said.
Evers’ son, David Gladstone, said his father “loves the adulation” and feels that he’s earned the recognition for his century on Earth.
Lee Evers, 102, of Montague, is all smiles at the Gill-Montague Senior Center, where he was being honored on Thursday as Montague’s oldest resident. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff File Photo 
Lee Evers, 102, of Montague, right, with his son David Gladstone, at the Gill-Montague Senior Center, where Evers was being honored on Thursday as Montague’s oldest resident. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Lee Evers, 102, of Montague, with his good friend Linda Rice of Greenfield, at the Gill-Montague Senior Center, where he was being honored on Thursday as Montague’s oldest resident. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Lee Evers, 102, of Montague, right, holds the Boston Post cane with Montague Selectboard member Marina Goldman at the Gill-Montague Senior Center, where he was being honored on Thursday as Montague’s oldest resident. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
Evers was born in the Bronx on Feb. 12, 1923, and was raised by other family members after his mother died when he was 1. Once he joined the U.S. military to serve in World War II, he was sent to the Pacific Theater, and he earned five battle stars. Later in life, he wrote a book about the nine different times he almost died during the war.
After the war, Evers worked for Mattel, where he befriended company co-founders Ruth and Elliot Handler. Ruth Handler’s claim to fame was inventing the Barbie doll. The company eventually transferred him to Los Angeles, where he lived for 25 years. He and his late wife, Lillian Evers, moved to Montague 27 years ago to be closer to family.
“I lived in Manhattan for 25 years. I worked at Mattel Toys in Los Angeles for 25 years and I’ve been here for 27 years. This is by far the best place I’ve been,” Evers told the group at the ceremony.
To honor this life lived, Selectboard member Marina Goldman worked with Council on Aging Director Roberta Potter to coordinate Thursday’s celebration. This was something that Goldman wanted to see come to fruition after joining the Selectboard last spring, seeing as the Boston Post cane had not been awarded since it was given to the previous oldest resident Maxine Davis. Davis lived to be 103 before she died in November 2024.
“They told me that the woman who’d gotten the last golden cane had died, and so I was like, ‘Well, get the next one,'” Goldman said.
Goldman consulted with Town Clerk Wendy Bogusz to get a list of the oldest residents in Montague, with Evers at the top of the list. Three other residents are also in their triple digits now.
She also felt it was important to have Potter involved to help make this a sustainable celebration that the Gill-Montague Senior Center can host.
“It was very clear that he would be very honored,” Goldman said about Evers.
Longtime friend of Evers, Irene Jordan, said that in knowing Evers since he arrived in Montague nearly 30 years ago, he’s always had a “wonderful soul.”
“I’m just so happy,” Jordan said when asked about what she thinks of Evers earning the golden cane. “I mean, the Honor Flight was huge, and now this.”
2025 has been a big year for Evers, who completed his Honor Flight in May. He visited Washington D.C. with a cohort of fellow veterans through the Connecticut Honor Flight. He was the only World War II veteran on the flight and the oldest person on the trip.
Now that he is near his 103rd birthday in February, Evers is looking forward to releasing another book about his experience working at Mattel. His secret to maintaining his sprightly nature, he said, has been exercising at the YMCA and being surrounded by loved ones.
“I’m a very busy old man,” Evers said.