It's just another birthday for 100-year-old

Selwyn and Lois Thompson, who have been married for 73 years, share a chuckle on his 100th birthday. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Selwyn Thompson isn't sure what all the fuss is about. It is, after all, just a birthday. He wasn't too keen on a story in the paper either. Well, maybe a paragraph. That would do it, he said.

Selwyn celebrated his 100th birthday last Wednesday in low-key fashion with an invitation for friends to pop around to his place at Kerikeri Retirement Village, where he lives independently with his wife of 73 years, Lois.

He also headed to Rotorua over the weekend for "a bit of a family bash". He and Lois were joined there by their five daughters, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Selwyn's tips for a long and healthy life are simple.

"Plenty of plain food and not too much grog. And you've got to have something to do and keep you occupied, that's what keeps you alive."

Selwyn knows about keeping occupied. After his first retirement at the age of 60 he and Lois moved to Kerikeri, where he worked on his son-in-law's orchard until he retired for the second time at the age of 98.

Born in Motueka in 1915, his working life began at the age of 14 when the Depression set in. He earned the princely sum of 12 shillings 6 pence working for a wholesaler in Auckland.

Later he landed a job with his grandfather's firm, Thompson and Hills, which produced Oak canned fruits, jams and marmalades.

In 1941 he enlisted in the Army, married his sweetheart with four days' notice to their parents, and was sent to Egypt with the 24th Battalion. As a reconnaissance officer in the Signal Corps his job was to go ahead of the troops to set up radio communications.

He fought at El Alamein and later, with the 21st Battalion, helped lead the charge up through Italy. He got home to Lois five years later.

He returned to the family firm, setting up a factory in Napier and later, after the Watties takeover, running factories in Christchurch, Nelson and Dunedin. Somehow he also found time for sailing, Rotary, the RSA and Probus.

Selwyn isn't too quick on his feet these days but he still gets around. And he's sharp as a tack with a wry, self-effacing sense of humour. He's just not convinced about this birthday fuss.

"I've never had so much fuss in all my life as these last two or three days," he said.

Sorry Selwyn, that was a bit more than a paragraph. We hope you had a happy birthday anyway.