She’s having fun at 101

At the Oasis Senior Center in Newport Beach, Alice Smith is known for her sense of humor, her smile and for calling everyone “honey.”

The longtime Balboa Peninsula resident is also known for being the oldest Newport Beach resident.

Smith, who turned 101 on June 18, was an honored guest at the city’s Sept. 1 centennial celebration.

“Everybody knows her. She’s kind of our local celebrity,” said Marci Knapp, the senior center’s recreation coordinator.

Smith said a couple of months ago at the center, she and other senior citizens were told those who were 100 years old would be invited to the party.

“I felt honored to be there. I love Newport Beach,” Smith said. “But I was expecting to see others. There must be others — we’re a pretty big city.”

Smith credits reaching the age of 101 to eating fruits and vegetables, maintaining a good sense of humor and surrounding herself with family.

She celebrated her birthday in June with her two children, three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

“I tell my grandchildren if you eat fruits and vegetables, you’ll live as old as grandma,” she said.

As for her mental outlook, she said: “I try to be a positive thinker, and I have a lot of faith. I never get lonesome because the kids are always around.”

Smith said she likes being around her family but also likes her independence.

A typical week for Smith is going shopping or to a doctor’s appointment on Tuesdays with daughter Marilyn. On Thursdays she attends a singing class at the senior center.

“Honey, we have more fun in that sing-along class,” she said laughing. “I can’t sing a note, but I enjoy it.”

Smith was born in New York in 1905 and moved to Los Angeles with her family a year later. She was raised in South Los Angeles.

She was married to her husband Frank for almost 60 years. Frank, who served in the Navy during WWI, died when he was 90.

She and her husband bought a house in 1954 in Newport Beach. She lives in the same house now.

She said her parents and siblings died at a young age: Her mother died at 73 and her father at 53.

“My sister and two brothers died between 60 and 65, so I don’t know where I got my genes,” she said. “I guess I’m still here because I still have something I haven’t completed in this life. I don’t know what it is. I just wanted to live until my children were grown.”

Smith, who graduated from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, said she never worked because she took care of her mother.

She said the biggest changes she has seen over her lifetime include the change in society’s morals and the high cost of living.

The cost of living and the prices of homes in Orange County have gone up significantly since Smith and her husband bought their home in 1954 for $15,000, she said.

The political makeup in her neighborhood has changed too, she said.

“When we first moved here, everybody was Republican,” she said. “But I always say to each his own.”

As for her health, Smith says she is on her second pacemaker. She survived a heart attack 18 years ago.

“But I’m doing fine,” she said. And when asked if she thought she would live many more years, “I’m planning on it.”