Amongst the guests will be her lifelong friend, fellow Mater Christi resident and sister-in-law Enid Lambeth, who celebrated her centenary two years ago.

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Enjoying her golden years, Joyce is well cared for by a devoted staff at Mater Christi, according to her family.

“Her days are filled with a variety of activities, such as music appreciation, gentle exercise classes and Bingo,” Joyce’s son Norm Jeff told News Of The Area.

At the time of her 100th birthday, Joyce is the mother of three, the grandmother of eight, the great-grandmother of nine, the great-great-grandmother of eighteen, and the great-great-great-grandmother of three.

Born on 27 April 1924 in the Sydney suburb of Mortdale, Joyce was one of four children.

She had two sisters, Yvonne and Meryl, and a brother, Len.

In 1946 Joyce Sayre married Will Jeff in Sutherland and went on to have three children: Denis, Norm and Sandy.

“In the early 1950s Sawtell became our favourite destination for family holidays,” said Norm.

“Mum and Day loved the area and the climate so much that relocating from Sydney was soon on the radar.”

In 1964 the Jeff family moved from Sutherland to Sawtell with Norm and Sandy, leaving behind their eldest son, Denis, to finish university.

“Most of both Joyce’s and Will’s sisters and brothers would eventually follow them and make the move to beautiful ‘Sunny Sawtell’.”

The family moved around various properties in Sawtell before finally settling into a “lovely villa” in Elizabeth Street.

Coming from a background in window coverings, Will and Joyce founded Coffs Harbour Blinds and Awnings, a company highly respected to this day.

“Mum worked hard in the business as a bookkeeper, salesperson and receptionist, but also helped with the manufacturing of blinds.

“The business continues to supply window coverings to towns all over NSW, including Sydney to the south, Moree and Coonabarabran to the west, and as far north as the QLD border,” said Norm.

Before moving up from Sydney, Joyce and her sister Yvonne were members of the Sutherland Shire Physical Culture Club.

After being in Sawtell a short time and discovering there were limited sporting activities for females, in 1967 they founded the Sawtell EP Physical Culture Club.

The club started small at Sawtell Guide Hall, but quickly grew to around 100 members and moved to the Sawtell Reserve Hall.

Joyce’s memories from this time include “splinters in bums, snakes in the rafters and being donated paint so they could spruce up the rundown old hall”.

Over the years, the Sawtell Physical Culture Club has had many success stories, with award-winning teams and girls competing in state grand finals at Sydney Town Hall.

Joyce made, and has kept, good bonds with many local families, including Val and Lisa Swadling and Jan and Kirsten McLeod.

Both Lisa, Kirsten and her daughters are still doing ‘Physie’ with the Sawtell Club.

Around 1969, Joyce and Enid started a clothing and gift boutique in Moonee Street, Coffs Harbour, for which Joyce and her daughter Sandy took road trips to Sydney, combining warehouse shopping in Surry Hills for stock, with classes for ‘Physie’ teachers in George St, Sydney.

Afterwards, they were sometimes privileged to have lunch with Edith Parsons – the school’s founder – and always came away feeling like they’d dined with royalty.

As well as a passion for ‘Physie’ (and shopping) in her spare time, Joyce enjoyed tennis and golf, and loved spending time in the sun on Sawtell beach.

Over the years, she has generously donated to the Sawtell Surf Club.

Placid by nature, her many friends called her Joycie.

Joyce’s grandchildren all resoundingly remember her tasty bowls of spaghetti bolognese when they came to visit.

Her husband Will passed away on 4 May 2006.

By Andrea FERRARI