Oasis Middle School students created 96 handmade birthday cards for Kathryn McGuire to celebrate her 96th birthday.

Students at Oasis Middle School helped to make one woman’s birthday extra special this year with 96 homemade cards, one for each year.

“I did this for both personal and professional reasons,” John Ball, a teacher at Oasis Middle School, said. “My mother and grandmothers have such a special place in my heart, and I was so excited when Andrea (Justice) reached out to me and asked me to have my students make cards for her mom’s 96th birthday.”

“I was more than happy to be a part of such a special occasion. As a teacher, I think it is very important to teach kids to be kind and to do nice things for others. They really had a great time doing this for Kathryn,” Ball said.

Andrea Justice taught with John before she retired, remembering what a kind soul he has.

“When I reached out to him with my request, he agreed without hesitation. I am forever grateful to John and his students at Oasis Middle school for making mom’s 96th birthday an unforgettable one,” she said.

Ball said the students’ inspiration stemmed from knowing that what they were doing would make someone smile and feel good.

“The students at Oasis Middle are always looking to do these random acts of kindness. It meant a lot to them and to me to be a part of such an awesome event in someone’s life,” he said.

McGuire celebrated her 96th birthday in Rockledge at her daughter Tina’s home, which included two of her grandchildren and one great granddaughter in attendance.

“A big surprise was her granddaughter and great granddaughter from Pennsylvania showing up. Tina arranged the party with lots of decorations, playing games, great food and great conversation,” Justice said.

When McGuire was handed the 96 student handmade cards, she burst into tears. She has now read them all three times.

“She was so impressed with the kind words and artwork. Mr. Ball reached out to me about what mom liked and I told him Arby’s, shopping, going to the casino and corny jokes. His students took these suggestions and ran with it, including their corny jokes. Several students drew and cut out slot machines, and others drew shopping bags and Arby’s. Heartfelt words were written in the cards, which touched my heart,” Justice said.

She said although the students never met her mom, they went all out.

“When we received the thank you video from Kathryn, we knew that we achieved our goal of making a special event even more awesome,” Ball said.

Ball said being kind works both ways.

“We feel good when we make other people happy. We should definitely do more of it,” Ball said.

McGuire was born in Philadelphia and had two older brothers and one younger sister, all of whom have since passed away.

“Mom was age 4 when she and her siblings were orphaned,” Justice said. “She and her sister were placed in a home in Perkasie, Penn. She met my father William roller skating and married in 1943, moving to Lambertville, NJ.”

They had four children, William Jr, deceased, Andrea (Justice), Michael, deceased and Tina (Lindekugel). McGuire has seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

McGuire remained in Lambertville until 2018 when she moved to Cape Coral to live with Justice.

“During her time in Lambertville, she volunteered and served as president of the ladies’ auxiliary of the Lambertville Ambulance Association. She also ran teenage dances Friday and Saturday nights for many years along with my dad to help keep teens engaged in positive activities,” Justice said.

Her favorite things were weekend trips to Seaside Heights and junkets to Atlantic City. Now she enjoys to shop and travel to the east coast to spend time with her daughter Tina.