Not only was she able to walk unaided from her Oxford Court Resthome room to her preferred seat in the lounge, but she was also able to celebrate her birthday with not one, but three parties in a week.
Long life runs in the family — Mrs Nelson’s aunt lived until she was almost 106.
The secret to earning the coveted card from the Queen was simple. Stay fit, she said.
Mrs Nelson met her husband, Bill Nelson in the late 1940s when he came to Dunedin from Invercargill to meet his sister, who was a friend of Mrs Nelson’s.
At the time, she was Connie Dowden, and was working as a tailoress.
The pair were married in February 1949, and remained together until Mr Nelson died in 1996, at the age of 77.
Memories from her centenary in Dunedin included the 1979 Abbotsford landslip, and the sadness of seeing school friends’ names in lists of fallen soldiers in the newspaper during World War 2.
To mark her 100th birthday, Mrs Nelson gathered with friends and family on Wednesday for a Great Gatsby inspired party in homage to the roaring 20s — the decade Mrs Nelson was born.
Three of her four sons, David, Graeme and John, attended, as did her grandson, Joshua who lived in Christchurch.
Covid restrictions meant her fourth son, Colin, who lived in Brisbane, and several of her 10 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren could not attend the celebration.
