With a new pair of shoes on her feet Edna Lennane turns 100 today.
The glowing and young spirited woman said she has enjoyed her life.
"Just fancy I made 100," she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend, dressed in a hot pink dress with two strings of pearls around her neck.
Born in Matapu in Taranaki to sharemilking parents Mary and Frances Warrender, she was raised with 14 brothers and sisters.
She was the third eldest child and the oldest survivor of four siblings left in the family.
She said she remembers her mother, Mary, helping to milk cows and wash the children's clothing in the creek at the same time growing up around different parts of New Zealand.
She ended up finishing school in Matamata about 13 so she could help her parents look after her other siblings.
She met her husband Francis Lennane through her brother's dairy farm and the pair where married in Pukekohe in 1938. They were married for almost 60 years before Francis died in 2002.
They had five children together, four boys and one girl.
Her marriage and children where the greatest achievements in her life, she said.
After the children grew up the Lennanes travelled around the country - one of the best things she ever did, she said. She especially enjoyed the South Island including Christchurch.
She ventured to Australia, then to Fiji but never had the opportunity to go further afield.
Today, Mrs Lennane will celebrate her birthday with an afternoon tea and then head out to dinner with close friends and loved ones.
"You only turn 100 once," she said.
"It's all very exciting, I haven't gone grey just yet. My niece in Australia thinks I will make it to 104."