Joan McGrail Celebrates 103rd Birthday at Katikati Rest Home

Joan McGrail turned 103 on Easter Monday this year, with her birthday celebrations held on 29 April at Radius Lexham Park in Katikati. Sharp-witted and well-dressed for the occasion, Joan asked her niece Mary Pickett to make sure her collar was turned over properly before leaving her room — true to a lifetime of taking pride in her appearance.

Born on 21 April 1922 in Ōhakune to parents David and Maud Bolstad, Joan's early life was shaped by hardship. Her father survived World War I but was stranded in England for months after the war, and his death — exacerbated by war wounds — left her mother penniless. Joan and her brother Andrew, nicknamed 'Dig', were placed in a Hamilton home called The Nest while their mother Maud worked to save enough to open a small bakery-come-dairy-come-tearoom in Ōhakune.

Joan met her husband Harold McGrail at a table tennis tournament in Ōhakune, and the two married on 27 April 1942 at the town's Presbyterian church. Harold clocked up 42 years at the NZ Railways Corporation, and the couple later spent two years travelling England and Europe in a campervan. They had four children together. Joan's family credits her longevity to eating natural, unprocessed food throughout her life, as well as her strong faith. She still follows the All Blacks, the Black Caps, and names Novak Djokovic as her all-time favourite tennis player. Joan moved to Radius Lexham Park in late 2023 to be closer to her niece Mary.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).