Oct. 24 was the latest in a long line of big and happy days for John Krause.

“I can’t believe I just turned 101,” Krause said on his birthday, which he celebrated with friends and an addition to his collection of festive suspenders at Solstice Senior Living at Point Defiance, the Tacoma community where he lives. “Besides a few aches and pains and some hearing loss, I feel as good as ever.”

Krause was also happy to note he has gotten to do just about everything he ever dreamed of, including taking a ride in a hot air balloon–one of his fondest memories.

While his friends say he hasn’t changed much over the years, the world around him has. The year he was born, women gained the right to vote, the first radio was sold in stores, and insulin was invented.

Raised on a wheat farm outside of Stanfield, Ore., Krause was one of eight siblings. He served in the Air Force for eight years as an airplane mechanic and worked at Boeing. He now takes daily walks and participates in an exercise program.  One of his keys to a happy, healthy life, he said, is to “take life as it comes and not let anything bother me too much.”