Freeland resident celebrates 103 years

As the old saying goes, “You learn something new everyday.”

Joan Andrew, a resident at the Maple Ridge community in Freeland, has been learning something new everyday for almost 103 years.

The Ohio native can say she’s gone through a lot — including the Great Depression and surviving the Great Flood of 1936 that killed 200 people.

Just a few days before blowing out 103 candles on Monday, Joan still remembers when her father, a World War I veteran, lost his dry cleaning business, and how the family of eight had to leave their home for a smaller abode after the Crash of ‘29.

As the only daughter in a family with five sons, she had hoped to find a job that would help her family recover from the financial hit. At the time, she said, women were told they had two options: nursing or teaching.

However, her mother encouraged her to put her own life first and to serve the Navy as it would give her valuable experience. So, between 1944 and 1945, Joan worked as a nurse at the Naval Flight Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma, taking care of soldiers who had been fighting in the Pacific and learning skills that would later secure her nursing jobs at various hospitals.

While “exciting” — among other things, she got to see big band icon Glenn Miller perform at the base — her time in the Navy was short-lived. After “escaping” the base to fly to Dallas and marry her boyfriend, who worked as a dentist at a base in Texas, she was immediately asked to apply for discharge.

Back then, Joan said, it was normal practice for the Navy to disqualify married nurses.

She did not mind much, as she felt blessed to marry someone like her husband, Milton, or “Andy,” who would remain by her side for 74 years, teaching her the power of love with his kindness, integrity and fashionable “Peanuts” ties.

Now, despite having over a century of life experiences, Joan is not done learning.

After over 70 years in sunny California, Joan was not expecting to have to go through a drastic life change at the age of 99, let alone live that long. At that age, she believed her life had long plateaued out.

But when Andy passed away in 2021 at the age of 98, Joan had to pack up her things and move to Freeland, where her son Steve and daughter-in-law Sue live.

Three years after moving to Whidbey Island, she is still learning to adjust to a new home, new people and a different climate.

As she came to find out, life in an assisted living facility can be uneventful, and many residents tend to keep to themselves. Yet, upon talking with her, one can easily feel drawn to her lively mind.

In an email to the South Whidbey Record, Sue said Joan often gets “lines of people” who want to talk with her at both churches she attends.

“We keep reminding Mom that she is somewhat of a novelty,” Sue Andrew said. “Not too many people have the privilege of speaking with someone so clear and interesting at 103 years old.”

Joan has been an avid reader her whole life, and to this day keeps a wide collection of books and a stack of newspapers with her. Whether she’s immersed in a volume about American foreign policy or a book about embracing aging, it appears that her brain still has plenty of room for new information.

Over the decades, for example, she has witnessed the continuous metamorphosis of the English language, and tries to keep up with new terms by consulting her thesaurus.

“Always keep learning, always keep reading,” she often tells Sue. “One idea leads to another one.”

Joan also keeps herself busy by praying, going to “America” to shop with her family, or interacting with staff and fellow residents, excitedly discussing the latest issue of the Wall Street Journal, sharing European history facts or finding inspiration in other people’s experiences and wisdom.

Diet might have played a role in her longevity. According to Sue, Joan and her husband have always been careful with the food they put on their plates. Fresh vegetables and fruits, homemade foods, whole grain breads and desserts on rare occasions. Relaxation, Sue said, was also important, as well as staying physically active.

Joan, however, mainly credits her faith with reaching this rare milestone. As a devout Catholic, she has found strength in God during hard times, including her husband’s passing. But as she continues to wake up every morning, she often wonders why God has decided to keep her alive for so long.

Though she can stand, walk and speak with the eloquence of a TED Talk guest speaker, Joan said she can feel her body “deteriorate.” As each day passes, she is learning to let go of her physical body, which makes her feel “closer to God.”

Once again, with great strength and wisdom, she was able to turn that into another insightful experience.

“It’s okay,” she said, smiling. “I’m not afraid.”