Incredible 93-year-old grandma overcomes grief and health challenges — visits all 63 national parks

Joy Ryan, a 93-year-old grandma, has overcome numerous challenges and outlived loved ones, but certainly lives life more fully than most people half her age. Popular on Instagram as Grandma Joy, she recently achieved the remarkable feat of visiting all 63 national parks in the United States, becoming the oldest person to do so!

Now, she's preparing for her next adventure: exploring all seven continents and admiring the tallest peaks on each, starting with Africa. “It's never too late,” Grandma Joy told USA TODAY. 

Grandma Joy's travels were made possible by her 42-year-old grandson, Brad Ryan, who is also instrumental in documenting their journeys for their Instagram account. In 2015, he discovered that Grandma Joy had never seen a mountain or the ocean. Determined to change that, he invited her along, and Grandma Joy eagerly accepted. "I called her and I said, 'Do you want to go see your first mountain?' Her answer was, 'What time are you picking me up?'" Ryan recalled. "A lot of grandparents, they'd have answered like, 'Are you kidding me? I'm 85, go camping with somebody your own age,' but she said, 'Absolutely, I will go.'"

Their first trip together involved not only witnessing a mountain but also climbing it—a thrilling departure from her usual porch activities like crocheting. Since that transformative trip, Grandma Joy and Ryan embarked on a beautiful adventure, only recently concluding their marvelous achievement with the National Park of American Samoa. 

This incredible achievement was made even more meaningful considering Grandma Joy's health scare in 2008. Although she never received a diagnosis, her sister-in-law and local doctors cared for her until she made a miraculous recovery. Since then, she has dedicated her time to volunteering, spreading positivity, and offering smiles to brighten people's days. "You try to look on the good side of everything," she said. "And try to give anybody a passing compliment, smile at them. Maybe that's the only smile they're going to get all day. You can either be a gloomy Gus or you can smile."

Grandma Joy also recently struggled with COVID, which landed her in the hospital for two days. "The doctor said, 'If you hadn't had the vaccine, you would have died,'" she said. "I ached all over. It was like somebody beat me with a club. And then I had pneumonia and I got a blood clot in my leg ... So I got everything over all at once."

Grandma Joy's adventures with her grandson have attracted nearly 90,000 followers on Instagram, inspiring others to pursue their own adventurous lives. "You inspire me, Grandma Joy," wrote one fan in a recent post. "I am 55 and have been inactive way too long. I want to explore, too! Thank you for sharing your adventures."

While Grandma Joy's last mountain climb was also her first, she continues to hike whenever possible. Ryan expresses his gratitude for starting their adventures when they did, allowing her to accomplish at least one mountain ascent. "What she taught me is that if you can climb a mountain, go do it now."