Comox resident Joyce Jay, who turns 105 today, isn’t about to let age get in the way of new adventures, with skydiving high on her bucket list.
She wanted to go five years ago, but her family didn’t think it was a great idea. She told them: “What is the worst that can happen? I die?” —
They treated her to a birthday motorcycle ride instead, as she had driven her own motorcycle extensively when she was in her 20s.
While skydiving is off the table again this year, her children and grandchildren have arranged a tugboat ride over the weekend.
“I have had a really good life, although there have been some bad patches,” said Jay, who still lives independently.
While she doesn’t go into specifics, the bad patches include two world wars and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
Jay was born Oct. 18, 1917, in the village of Hockley, in Essex, England.
During the Second World War, she delivered babies at home during bombings in London and trained as a resistance fighter in the event the Germans invaded England.
She married her sweetheart Ted Jay, her best friend since kindergarten, and they had four children together — two boys and two girls: Ed, Janet, Bill and Lindsey. Her husband, who served as a pilot during the war, passed away in 1990 in Ontario.
The family moved to Canada in the 1950s, initially settling in the Greater Toronto Area. She visited one of her sons in Comox when she was 84. Tired of the long Ontario winters, she moved to the West Coast, which she said made her “feel young.”
Upon moving to Comox, she began teaching art to seniors and displaying her paintings — mostly acrylics and watercolours — at art shows throughout the Comox Valley.
In her 90s, Jay took up felting and joined the Comox Glacial Grannies.
The group creates felted items to sell at local artisan fairs, with proceeds to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. She also does wood carvings and pottery.
“She is quite the lady — an inspiration for all of us,” said Janet Black, 75, the older of her two daughters.
Sheri Jay, Joyce’s eldest granddaughter, said: “We were always creating with grandma.”
Two of her grandchildren became professional artists, starting their creative endeavours under Jay’s influence. One is known for his wall murals in Campbell River and Courtenay and the other is a painter in the Maritimes.
Through it all, Jay has maintained a positive outlook.
In a Zoom call during the pandemic, many family members complained about how restrictive everything was.
“Grandma said how lucky she thought we all were, with her experience of two world wars and another pandemic under her belt,” said Sheri Jay, who is 58 and lives in Ottawa.
“She said: ‘Never before have I been able to communicate with my loved ones via phone, Zoom, Messenger or Facetime when in a situation such as this. I have a TV, radio, groceries and prepared meals delivered to my door if necessary. No doing without anything in regards to food as almost anything can be delivered — as well as books to my Kindle.’ That put things into perspective for me.”
- - -
Joyce Jay, who turns 105 today, offers these tips:
1. Always have a purpose or a project for the day.
2. Think positively.
3. Find something each day to smile or laugh at.
4. Give your opinion but not your advice.
5. Love your memories but don’t wallow in them.
6. Enjoy a good book.
7. Keep your sense of wonder.
8. Be open to learning something new.
9. If something worries or upsets you, deal with it right away.
10. Keep an interest in current affairs.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
