Bendigo great-grandmother celebrates 100th birthday with friends and family

Gardener, golfer and great-grandmother Jean Ball, nee Weston, will celebrate a gargantuan milestone in April, marking her 100^th birthday at Benetas Kangaroo Flat aged care home in Bendigo.

The soon-to-be centenarian was born on 12 April 1926 in the north-west Victorian town of Appin South, growing up in Wedderburn Junction, outside of Bendigo, as one of five siblings.

After finishing school at the age of 14, Jean worked in refreshment rooms on the Victorian railways before moving to Melbourne during World War II to work at the Eclipse Radio factory painting radio dials.

After the war, she met and married Max Ball, spending 61 years and raising two daughters in Wedderburn, later enjoying time with their four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Her passions include supporting the Geelong Football Club, golf, lawn bowls and her craft group while also being active with senior citizens clubs in Spring Gully and Strathdale as well as the Holy Trinity Bendigo Anglican Church.

Jean arrived at Kangaroo Flat 18 months ago and almost instantly forged strong relationships with fellow residents and employees.

Having lived through the Great Depression in the 1920s and 1930s, Jean is averse to waste, always looking for new ways to use ingredients in tasty and nutritious ways.

She has always been lucky to have had great neighbours wherever she has lived and is a great believer in the importance and strength of family.

Her advice for a long life is to stay “as active as possible, eat healthy food and be interested in what your family is doing and what is going on around you”.