Keeping her mind sharp and her body moving: Billie Sack celebrates life at 102

Billie is one of 110 centenarian Discovery Health Scheme members (data to May 2025) whose health and wellbeing was reported on in recent investigation by the Health Intelligence team at Discovery Health (the second report of its kind - the first published in late 2023). Read the full report.

Selma Sack, known as "Billie", believes that staying busy and having a positive outlook are key to keeping her mind active and her spirits high.

At 102 years old, Billie starts every morning with crossword puzzles. She also plays bridge and Wordle with her daughter, Aviva Hack, who visits her daily. Billie still spends time in her garden, guiding her gardener on where to plant flowers, and enjoys watching cricket and tennis on television in the evenings.

Inside her home, the walls are filled with colourful canvases showcasing Billie's creativity. She has painted many of the artworks herself and has also completed several diamond dot paintings (including a self-portrait), a craft in which tiny resin 'diamonds' are placed onto a sticky canvas to form a picture.

"I think the biggest enemy of healthy ageing is boredom," Billie says. "Keep yourself busy by doing something constructive. I know your body gets sore here and there when you age, but try not to wallow in self-pity. Always be optimistic."

Keeping active through the years

Before she got married, Billie worked as a school teacher, teaching shorthand and typing. She has three daughters, eight grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

"In my early years I played so much piano that I didn't have time for sport," she says. But later in life, Billie became more physically active, taking up bowls and golf.

"I represented Houghton Bowling Club in four national bowls tournaments, which I enjoyed very much." She also spent many years going to the gym and walking daily until recently. "As an elderly person, you must keep your limbs moving otherwise your body will get stiff."

Billie fondly remembers hosting dinner parties in her younger years. "I'd spend hours laying the table, arranging flowers and cooking the food."

Despite some hearing and vision loss, and the aches and pains that come with age, Bille says she has mostly enjoyed good health. "I did contract COVID-19 but luckily I wasn't hospitalised," she says.

Longevity runs in her family, with several relatives living beyond the age of 95. "We have strong genes, I presume," she says. Billie also drove herself around until she was 93.

She remembers her 100th birthday celebration with joy. "I had a lovely big party, and my family came from all over the world. It was wonderful," she says. "I also received a card from the King of England, King Charles."

For Billie's 102nd birthday in June 2026, Bille enjoyed a morning tea party with friends, family members and several of her great-grandchildren.

Looking back on more than a century of memories, she reflects: "I think I've lived a very good life."