The youngest of seven centenarians at a Winchester care home has celebrated her 100th birthday.
Former teacher Joan Pape joined the ‘100 club’ at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton, marking the occasion with a family party and, later, attendance at a recital by a string quartet.
Asked for her secret of living to a great age, she cited the importance of family and her love of teaching and said: “It just happens. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful family around me.”
Born in 1926, Joan’s earliest memories are attending Long Eaton Grammar school in Nottinghamshire and being in local youth and church groups.
Having worked as a primary school teacher and lived most of her life in the town of Sandiacre on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border, she eventually moved to Winchester in 2022.
Joan has three sons, David and twins John and James, four grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Among her interests in years gone by, she spent much time walking in nature in the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District. She also played piano and enjoyed a love of music with her husband, a violinist and orchestra conductor.
Joan is one of seven centenarians at Abbotts Barton. The eldest is 106-year-old Betty Perry, who celebrated her birthday earlier this year on the same day as fellow resident Daphne Hopewell became 100. The others are Chloe Tubbs, Marjorie Beaven, Ian Cave and Arthur Wilkinson.
