My mother, Orpha Thrasher, crossed the century mark and kept going. Dad gave Journey to 100 its original idea. Mom has become its living continuation — still walking, still involved and still looking forward.
CityNews visited Orpha in October 2025 during the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run. She was 103.
Watch directly on YouTube →As she approached her 100th birthday, Mom set herself a goal: complete 100 walks before turning 100 and use the journey to raise money for Hope House in Guelph.
She completed walk number 100 on January 30, 2022. The effort raised approximately $23,000 for Hope House, and later that year she was named Guelph's Senior of the Year.
And then she kept walking.
I've lived with my mother since October 2013, helping her remain active, independent and involved in the life around her.
Health, movement and prevention have been a major part of my own life for decades, so naturally those ideas became part of our everyday life together.
Mom has told me that she believes my attention to her health and daily habits is one reason she is still here. I treasure hearing that — but anyone who knows Orpha knows that her own determination has a great deal to do with it.
Walking became especially important to Mom after the death of my father, Ivan, in 2011. They had been married for nearly 65 years, and Dad had been a devoted walker himself.
Mom continued walking in his memory. Over time those walks took her through Riverside Park, Guelph Lake, neighbourhoods and trails around the city. When the weather didn't cooperate, she found another way to keep moving.
Eventually the walks stopped being only about Mom. Family, friends and people from the community began joining her, and her example encouraged other people to start walking too.
The original Journey to 100 helped support Hope House, but Mom's involvement continued after her 100th birthday.
She continued taking part in Guelph's Coldest Night of the Year. At 102, Team Orpha was recognized on the floor of the Ontario Legislature for its work supporting Hope House.
The principle is simple: keep moving, bring people together and help somebody else along the way.
Mom is a serious Toronto Blue Jays fan. She watches the games, knows the players and has followed the team through generations of baseball.
In 2025, at age 103, CityNews featured her while she cheered the Jays through their World Series run. More than a century into her own journey, she was still following every pitch.
Journey to 100 is something most of us can only look toward. Mom has already crossed that line and kept going.
Her clock isn't counting down anymore. It's counting forward.