Woman celebrates 107th birthday with golf-themed party

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/Gray News) - A woman in Florida celebrated her 107th birthday surrounded by everything she loves: her friends and family, and golf.

Joan Wiley celebrated her milestone birthday on Thursday at The Blake in Miramar Beach.

The party was attended by her friends and family.

Wiley’s son, Tom Wiley, said his mother has lived through some big historical events.

“She was born in 1918 when Woodrow Wilson was the President. She survived the Spanish Flu, COVID, World War I and World War II, and she’s still going,” he said.

Joan Wiley is part of an elite group. According to the United States Census Bureau, there are just over 10,000 people in the country who have lived to 105.

The 107-year-old was born in Ohio, where she married the love of her life, Jack.

While attending the University of Toledo, she played softball. But that wasn’t the only sport she fell in love with.

“She was a great golfer during her younger years,” Tom Wiley said. “We grew up on a golf course. Her and my dad played all the time, which got me into playing too. She was club champion several times, won several tournaments, she’s had two hole-in-ones.”

Joan Wiley even went viral a few years ago for her skills on the course.

“She had several videos, one of them hit way over a million views. All in all, she’s had 5 million views on TikTok and Instagram. I tell her that and she says, ‘I don’t know why anyone would want to see me hitting a golf ball,’” Tom said. “It’s very impressive to see that she can do the things she can do at 107 years old.”

So of course, her 107th birthday was golf-themed. From the makeshift putting green all the way to her cake, which she enjoyed with her great grandchildren, many aspects of her party were themed after the sport.

Tom Wiley said his mother made it to 107 by focusing on her health and happiness through her life.

“She didn’t drink very much, she didn’t smoke very much, never did any of that stuff, and she liked to grow her own food. That’s some of the secrets she’s got for her longevity,” he said.

Joan Wiley’s family made shirts for her on her 100th birthday. Each year since, Tom Wiley has taken a sharpie to the shirt.

“Every year you can see I crossed out the ‘100th’ and changed it to a new year,” he said.

Tom Wiley also said his mother’s wisdom has been ed down to her family each year.

“Lessons learned from Mom is to never give up,” he said. “Just keep going and you can do whatever you want to do. Be kind to everybody. That’s what we learned from Mom.”

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