When he’s not up and about with his family, 100-year-old John Moyle is buried in a good book, which he credits his long life to.
The Jamisontown resident reached his birthday milestone on Saturday, January 5 where he celebrated with multiple generations worth of family and friends at Kingswood Sports Club.
Mr Moyle said his party was both heartwarming and emotional as he caught up with old friends and reflected on his long life.
“There were so many people, old friends, it shocked me, suddenly I’m surrounded by people I haven’t seen for 15 years and their children are now adults, it was a very very emotional time,” he said.
Born in 1919 in South Australia, Mr Moyle was one of 10 children.
While Mr Moyle’s long life is something a lot of us can only dream of, it appears his endurance is genetic.
“I don’t really know what the secret to long life is, I have to thank my ancestors as I feel that it is very much in the genes, my mother died at 96 and my aunt at 98,” he said.
But if one thing’s for certain, Mr Moyle pays tribute to his love of a good book and said it’s what keeps him going.
“Reading is the one thing that keeps me standing up, sometimes I read up to six books at a time, they are very different. It could be romance, travel, mystery, anything,” he said.
“One of the things I am very appreciative of is the fact that I can still read, I really love reading, it’s magical.”
On his birthday he received a letter from the Queen which he regarded as a high honour.
“One of Dad’s sayings is ‘never be the one sitting in the rocking chair on the veranda watching the people walk by, be the person who’s walking by’ and I think that sums him up completely,” his Daughter, Mary Harmer said.
When asked what the best advice he has been given in his lifetime was, Mr Moyle didn’t hesitate.
“Be yourself. ‘To thine own self be true and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man’. I’ve lived by that my whole life, to me that’s the answer to everything,” he said.
“The only thing you’ll ever own in this life is yourself.”
Nicola Barton
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Nicola Barton is a news journalist with the Western Weekender, primarily covering crime and politics.