Family, friends and fans celebrate Jean Collins’ 100th birthday

The actress Bo Derek was famous in the 1970s for being considered a perfect 10.

Shelter Bay’s Jean Collins has her beat 10-fold. She’s a perfect 100.

Collins, famed for her regular one-mile walks at Whitaker Field, was honored Thursday, July 21 at Maple Hall on her 100th birthday.

She didn’t get her laps in at the track, but Collins kept up her step count circling the room, greeting the many well-wishers who gathered from near and far to share her special milestone.

As proof, shortly after enjoying a slice of birthday cake, Collins produced a pedometer showing she had logged 1,296 steps.

“I put it in my pocket every morning,” she chuckled.

Its numbers grew as folks arrived throughout the two-hour celebration. Planning this party started in January, according to La Conner Senior Center Director Margaret Hillard.

Collins exchanged hugs with family members – some of whom had traveled from Scotland – and friends she has made here over the past 35 years through active roles at the Senior Center, La Conner United Methodist Church, Shelter Bay Chorus and La Conner Sunrise Food Bank.

“She knows so many people from her many associations,” Hillard said. “Her strong social connections have been vital.” Over the years she has played many games of Mahjongg Tuesdays at the Senior Center.

Resident Marilyn Thostenson, an art classmate with Collins, was ready with an accolade. “This is just amazing, it’s a wonderful celebration,” Thostenson told the Weekly News. “She needs to be honored.”

Born in Portland on July 21, 1922, when Warren Harding occupied the White House and the year the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, Collins hasn’t missed a step over the decades, either on or off the track.

She shops online, pumps her own fuel and has a presence on social media.

The youngest attendee of Collins’ party was four-year-old great-granddaughter Emma Collins of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, who had fun playing with her cousins in the sunlit Maple Center courtyard.

That interaction delighted the guest of honor.

“To me,” Hillard pointed out, “a key to Jean’s longevity has been her family.”

An alumnus of West Seattle High School, Collins was a para-educator with Seattle Public Schools while married to her late husband, Frank, a member of the Boeing engineering team. The couple was wed nearly 69 years before his death in 2015.

Their life together and other highlights were projected on a computer screen at the party.

Hillard noted her impact as an enduring role model.

“She’s like a second mom or grandma to me,” Hillard insisted.

Collins’ friend, Kim Nichols, spoke for all in a Thursday morning post.

“She’s seen a lot. She loves a lot. She creates a lot. I’m proud to know her!”