Lynn mugging victim feted by city council

LYNN – Still sporting dark facial bruises, 89-year-old mugging victim Geneva Sozanski kept her chin up Tuesday as the City Council paid tribute to her bravery, courage and, most importantly, her stoic behavior in the crime’s aftermath.”She was a victim of a senseless crime,” said City Council President Timothy Phelan. “We’re here to commend her for actions taken afterward. I was taken back at how well she spoke of Lynn and cautioned other seniors.”Sozanski was knocked to the ground in front of her Eastern Avenue home on Nov. 15, her pocketbook ripped away. An outpouring of condolences followed in the form of cards, flowers, cookies and even over-the-counter painkillers from relatives, friends, neighbors and hundreds of schoolchildren in Lynn and Revere.As Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr led Sozanski to the podium, she smiled brightly and said, “I can’t dance the Irish jig.”Presented with a citation, she grew immediately sentimental. “I’m going to frame this and show it to my six grandchildren,” she said, flanked by her son, Dr. Stanley Sozanski, a Byfield orthodontist, granddaughter Amy Pironti of Rowley, a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, and grandson David Sozanski of Lynn, director of nutritional services at the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott.”I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful family,” she said, noting that she and her 92-year-old husband, Julius, have been married 63 years.Sozanski often assisted her husband at his ophthalmology practice. “I can’t say he’s retired because he is still reading up on it,” she said.Sozanski was particularly touched by the hundreds of cards she received from students at the Aborn and Thurgood Marshall schools in Lynn and from others at Revere High School.”We have a great School Department. Those children all wished me well,” she said. “I couldn’t count all the cards and the flowers. I love Lynn. I’m overwhelmed by this. There are so many good people in this city. You just don’t realize it until something like this happens.”Unwilling to relinquish her sense of humor in the face of adversity, Sozanski called attention to her blackened eyes and purple cheekbones. “I guess I’m all ready for Halloween next year,” she quipped.Her granddaughter readily agreed. “We joked that it’ll be called the Sozanski costume.”Chuckles followed all around, the sort that only close-knit families dare to share.”It may not look it right now, but I’m a lucky woman,” said Sozanski. “I would have given the person the money if they had asked.”