Great-grandfather, great-grandson, great coincidence

The son and grandfather of Swampscott High graduate Bryan Sheckman were born on the same day – 101 years apart.This past Sunday, the two of them celebrated their birthdays together for the third time.Nate Sheckman, who celebrated his 103rd birthday Aug. 9, felt blessed to share his party with his 2-year-old great-grandson Chandler.”It was great fun,” said Nate. “He’s 2 years old, he’s a little man now. They came to me in Florida. The family was here, and it was a great joy for me.””The nice thing is that they got to spend time together at 101 years apart,” said Maryanne Sheckman, Nate’s daughter-in-law.Nate Sheckman moved to Florida after retiring as a dentist in New York.”I was a dentist, and my father before me was a dentist,” he said. “We both graduated from Columbia University.”Nate attributes the longevity of his life to a special secret.”My secret to living to be 103 is I have scotch on ice every day at 5 p.m.,” he said. He still lives on his own at his home in Florida.His oldest son, Peter Sheckman, is a physician who graduated from Yale and New York University Medical School. He is a Swampscott resident, and raised his two sons there.Nate’s younger son, Richard, is an architect.”I have two boys,” Nate said. “I call them my boys, but they’re elderly fellas now. The older one is 70, and the younger one will be 67 in December.””I unfortunately lost the love of my life almost three years ago after 73 years of marriage (his wife, Ruth),” Nate said. “I miss her a lot. She was a great mother.”Bryan Sheckman, Peter’s son, now lives in North Andover with his wife and two sons. His older son, 6-year-old Derek, is named after his late brother.Chandler was born via a cesarean section, and his parents were able to choose Aug. 9 as his birthday. Nate planned a trip to be there when Chandler was born, he said.”They picked my birthday so that we would have the same birthday,” he said. “There were four generations in that room after he was born.””Two years ago he came up here for the birth at age 101,” said Maryann. “He was thrilled. They presented him to him, and he held him almost immediately after he was born. It was just beautiful.”Celebrating their birthday together has been something they have done each year since. This year, the family saved Nate the trip and traveled to him.”I saw him last year, too,” Nate said. “I watched him grow into the terrible twos.”There is mentally a special bond for me because he’s my birthday boy,” said Nate. “I have two very special great-grandsons.”Maryanne said it was clear that little Chandler feels the same way about their special connection.”Two-year-olds don’t warm up to strangers very well, and Chandler has only seen him twice,” she said. “He went up to him right away. He warmed right up to him.”