Joan marks milestone birthday!
At Meadow View Residential Care Home in Kent, resident Joan Martin marked her incredible milestone 103rd birthday surrounded by family, friends and staff.
Born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, Joan moved to Brighton at the age of 12, where she spent much of her life. She enjoyed a long and fulfilling career, working as a sales representative in a men’s department for more than 30 years.
Joan has lived through extraordinary times, including being evacuated to Wiltshire during the war. “I evacuated to Wiltshire but didn’t like it there and so we came back!”
Her life has been full of achievements, including winning a silver medal for ballroom dancing on “14 April 1963 precisely,” she was also a keen ice skater.
Family has always been at the heart of Joan’s life. She recalls her long and happy marriage with her engineer husband Robert, known as Bob, who she referred to as such “a lovely man”. Joan has two sons, four grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren! Reflecting on her life, she shared that her happiest moment was simple and heartfelt, “when I had my first son.”
When asked about her secret to such a long life, Joan replied “I stopped smoking a long time ago when I was 59 years, old I stopped taking sugar about 20 years ago, and I have never been drunk in my life…I was always on the go and doing something!”
Joan, who has been a resident at the not-for-profit home since March, enjoys painting, colouring and completing crossword puzzles, as well as spending time in Meadow View’s lovely gardens. Joan reflected on her gratitude for such a long and happy life, now enjoying taking life at her own pace, “I take every day as it comes now.”
To celebrate her special day, the dedicated Sanctuary Care team organised an array of personalised flowers, a bespoke cake and cards, with Joan’s family joining the celebrations, making it a truly memorable occasion for everyone involved!
To hear more about how Meadow View enrich their residents’ lives every day, visit Meadow View Residential Care Home | Hersden, Kent.
