At 107, about to turn 108 next month, she is believed to be Otago's oldest resident.
Since the death of Christchurch resident Doris Mackintosh last week at the age of 109, the search has been on for the nation's oldest resident.
Despite being hard of hearing and having failing eyesight, Mrs Wilson is very mobile and there isn't a walking stick in sight.
She is fiercely independent and lives at home, with some hired help doing odd jobs around the house.
For Mrs Wilson, the idea of being named New Zealand's oldest resident was far from flattering, and just plain nonsense.
"Oh my goodness no. I don't want that title."
She believed her longevity was not an achievement. Rather, it was just good fortune.
"I'm just a stale old thing. Nobody wants to know about me. My life really isn't that interesting."
Mrs Wilson was born Frances Maud McRobie in Invercargill on March 23, 1903. She moved to Hyde after marrying her late husband Bill in 1929. They ran the district's grocery store.
Later, they owned a shop in Riverton and finally settled in Clyde after buying an orchard there.
Spokesmen for Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs said it was difficult, if not impossible, to determine New Zealand's oldest resident, and they could not provide proof based on the statistical information they held.
Mrs Mackintosh, who had her 109th birthday last month, died peacefully on Friday at the Alpine View Aged Care Centre, in Christchurch, where she had lived for the past 13 years.
Her death came on the same day as 108-year-old Esther Moreland, of Waikanae, who died two weeks short of her 109th birthday.
New Zealand's oldest recorded person is believed to have been Florence Finch, who was born in the United Kingdom on December 22, 1893, and died on April 10, 2007, at the age of 113 years, 109 days.
