Watch: Young and old unite to celebrate 105th birthday of beloved resident Joan

Young and old came together in Dartmouth to celebrate the birthday for 105 year old Joan.

Children at hdc Nursery Dartmouth can regularly be seen out and about in their local community and have been sharing some of their outings and adventures on their Facebook page.

One particular adventure has taken them on a visit to The Fleet Care Home to celebrate resident Joan Hannaford’s 105th birthday.

Joan was born in 1919 and is 105 years old. During several days of celebrations, she celebrated her birthday with no less than three birthday cakes and a glass of fizz with Fleet Care Home residents, family members, and children from HDC Dartmouth nursery.

Joan was happily married to Len, who is sadly no longer with us. She has 2 sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She lived independently at home until she was 101 and worked well into her 90s, having a varied career as a hairdresser, barmaid, and housekeeper.

She used to walk the coastal path daily before becoming less mobile. She loved walking, gardening, being outdoors, knitting, and playing the piano, so music is a great part of her life. She still enjoys singing along and regularly getting involved with seat aerobics at the care home.

The children took gifts of hand-made cards and flowers to the care home to celebrate with Joan and her friends and joined residents with games, stories, birthday cake and of course a rapturous rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’!

The team at HDC Nursery Dartmouth have shared the joyfully narrated story of their adventure to their followers: https://www.facebook.com/reel/567828252305099

Nursery Manager, Natasha Slade commented, “The children love to visit the residents at The Fleet Care Home, where they forge meaningful relationships between the generations. Discovery of the world around us is an important part of our curriculum so all of our outings are filled with exploration and practical life skills, but this particular visit was a real honour to celebrate a remarkable lady. We had such a lovely morning and the team at The Fleet were wonderful hosts as always.”