At 100 years old, Esther Vine has trouble making friends her own age — so she spent her birthday this year hanging out with the kids.

“I run around with a bunch of 80-year-olds,” she said June 16, celebrating her centennial birthday at Federal Way’s Village Green retirement community.

Vine celebrated the day with cake, dozens of friends and family, a letter of congratulations from mayor Jim Ferrell and a speech from fellow Village Green centenarian and World War II veteran Leo Thoennes.

“Maybe I know something about 100 years old, that most of you don’t know,” said Thoennes, who turned 101 last year. “I felt humbled and honored. And I think Esther feels the same way, that so many of you showed up here — so many friends and family.”

Esther Vine celebrated her 100th birthday on June 16 at Federal Way’s Village Green retirement home. Alex Bruell / The Mirror

Born in 1923 in Bellingham, Esther experienced the economic crash of 1929, the ensuing poverty and the way “we all pulled together” to survive, she said.

She met her husband Warren Vine in high school, marrying him three years later. After graduating in 1941, she started attending college, but the outbreak of World War II put those plans on ice.

“We went to work,” she said. “That was the way we had to do it.”

Warren joined the Air Force, in which he fought in World War II and flew more than 38 missions. After the war, the couple enjoyed travelling — including living for two years on a Red Sea compound in Saudi Arabia — and camping with their kids. Warren Vine did in 1996.

Esther, an artist and avid fan of the New York Times crossword puzzle, worked with the homeless population until she finally had to give up her car around the age of 92. She’s raised four children and has five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and even a great-great-grandchild.

Her mother’s 100th birthday is “an amazing milestone,” said youngest daughter Kristi Vine. “We never knew if she’d actually make it this far, and she’s done a brilliant job of it. If anybody could do it better, I’d like to see it.”

She’s a great card player and a crafty artist who spent years making watercolors and hand-crafting clothes for her children — often winning awards for her art, her kids said.

It’s all part of how she’s kept her mind and body active.

“Her secret for getting to 100 years old was to remain active the whole time,” son James Vine said. “(She) never really stopped.”

Village Green’s Esther Vine holds a sign at her 100th birthday marking the time she’s spent alive—which comes out to more than 36,000 days, or 52 million minutes. Alex Bruell / The Mirror

James’ son Evan — one of Esther’s grandkids — travelled from Los Angeles to visit his grandmother on her 100th. He said Esther Vine has always been “on the go,” whether in making Belgian waffles for the grandkids or taking Evan up to Mount Rainier to pick wildflowers.

But one memory that stick out is “the first, maybe only time” he and his grandma got in an argument, Evan said, while they were preparing to board a ferry across the Puget Sound.

As grandmother and grandson were looking over some of the model ferries on display at the Seattle terminal, Evan saw a ferry pass by that looked similar to one of the models.

“And I was like, well, ‘That one is this model.’ She’s like, ‘No, it’s this one.’ I was certain, and she was certain,” he said. “And that lasted probably about 10 to 15 minutes until both of us turned our backs, let the air clear, and then went back to having a great time.”

In the end, “it didn’t matter” who was right, Evan said. But he took away from the experience that he and his grandmother could respect each other enough to have a spirited debate — and love each other to not take it too seriously.

“That kind of showed me as a kid that you can get into an argument with someone … and still had a great time for the rest of the day,” Evan said.

The retirement community has been “a wonderful space,” Esther said: “I was very active until I got sick. …. I came here and got well.”

“She’s very sincere,” Kristi Vine said. “And she’s just really, really well liked. … This location (Village Green) has been a real lifeline with her because of how many friendships she’s been able to have.”

Daughter Pamela Vine Auguston called Esther “a force of nature,” and recalled her mother hand-crafting matching polka-dot pajamas for the family. In the 1950s, when money was tight, Esther still managed to decorate the house “on a dime,” she said.

“We always called her the ever-ready bunny,” Pamela Vine Auguston said. “She just kept going no matter what happened to her health. She would pop back.”

Reflecting on it all, Esther is inclined to agree: Keeping busy and rarely sitting still are what’s given her longevity. It doesn’t hurt that medicine has advanced so much in her lifetime, she said.

But there’s also the basics: She eats her vegetables, listens to her doctors and stays active. After a recent surgery, she started exercising and practicing yoga — “and by golly, in two weeks, I was up on my feet,” she said.

Now, at 100 years old, Esther Vine is pain-free, happy, and eager to enjoy every day she has left.

“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family and wonderful friends,” she said. “And who knows what’s next?”

Village Green’s two centenarians, World War II veteran Leo Thoennes and Esther Vine, celebrated Vine’s 100th birthday on June 16 at Federal Way’s Village Green retirement home. Alex Bruell / The Mirror