The Amberley resident says the secret to her longevity is healthy living, eating, and being on the move.
"I’ve always been on the go, never sitting still for too long.
"It is who I am."
On October 11, 1924, in the small semi-rural community of Franklin Junction on the banks of the Waikato River near Hamilton, a bouncing baby girl was born to Dorothy and Claude McEwan - a renowned pastry cook who specialised in wedding cakes.
She was named Joy, the youngest of three girls, and as soon as she could she was up and away exploring her surroundings - much like she still does 100 years later.
Her desire to always be on the move led to an interesting life revolving around her family, dress-making, gardening, musical theatre and travel.
"I taught myself to play the piano by ear.
"I can’t read music and despite some lessons early on from a professor when I was nine-years-old, I found it was easier to play by ear."
Joy followed her parent's passion for singing and dancing and today can still play the swing tunes of the 40s and 50s on the old upright piano in the community room at the Amberley Rest Home where she lives.
Joy’s family moved to find work during the Depression and she spent the war years living with relatives in Te Awamutu working as a dental assistant.
Post-war, a chance to go tobacco picking in Nelson presented Joy with the opportunity to meet her future husband - William (Bill) Forbes.
Bill was in the RNZAF training to be a pilot and the couple's romance blossomed.
"I met him out in the tobacco fields on the first day I was there.
"He was taller than me and later commented about how I danced, so I took up dance lessons to get better."
The couple were married in Auckland in 1948 and in 1950 they moved to Yaldhurst, behind Harewood airport.
They had three children: Judith (who lives in England), John (in Hornby) and Jeffrey who lives in Australia.
"I came to Christchurch and hated it.
"I returned home to my family in Auckland many times during the following years, always travelling on my own or later with the children.’’
While Bill worked in his car parts business, Joy tended to the home in Pounds Road.
"I loved it, as it had a 10-acre garden in it that was all mine to create and care for."
Her gardening and passion for stage musicals kept her busy for many years.
She often appeared in local newspapers over the following decades, leading the productions, sewing all the costumes by hand and enjoying the music.
Dancing remained a passion and she often won medals at competitions.
Once her children had grown up and moved away, Joy started to realise her passion for travelling.
"Bill paid for it all but never came on any of my trips to England, Australia or America and Asia," she says.
"He wasn’t interested in travelling, so I went on my own.
"Imagine me, a middle-aged mother travelling solo around the world.
"I learned everything about each place before I visited and had a wonderful time."
Bill sadly passed one month before the couple's 60th wedding anniversary in 2008.
Joy carried on with the music.
"I loved sewing the costumes. I went through seven sewing machines over the years."
The former member of the Kicking Grandmas still plays the piano, and is always walking about the home in Amberley.
"I love being on the move, and I’ve had a wonderful life," she says.
Joy will celebrate her 100th birthday today (October 11) at a small family gathering.
