A 101-year-old woman from New Jersey who still works six days a week has shared a straightforward and heartfelt explanation for why she’s never retired.

After living a full century, most people might choose to take it easy, relax, and enjoy their later years—if they’re fortunate enough to reach that milestone. But that’s not Ann Angeletti.

Born in the early 1920s, Ann left school as a child to help her family run their grocery store in Brooklyn. There were no TikTok stars or Twitch streamers to distract her back then—just hard work and family responsibility.

It was an era before refrigerators were common, and Ann’s father earned extra income by selling ice door-to-door from a horse-drawn cart. Needless to say, Ann has seen the world change dramatically over the past century—but she’s not slowing down.

Today, Ann works as a jeweler in New Jersey’s Diamond District. She owns and operates her own business, Curiosity Jewelry in Cresskill, alongside her daughter and granddaughter. Working six days a week, she spoke candidly to ABC7 about why she refuses to retire.

“If I retire, I would die, so I cannot stay home,” Ann said.

Clearly, for her, stopping isn’t an option—and probably not worth the risk.

Ann has always kept busy. During World War II, while her husband was away fighting, she worked at the Navy Yard. Later, she took a job as a waitress before eventually starting her own jewelry business.

She decided to open the store after noticing a jewelry shop space available for rent and calling the owner to ask about it.

“[I] asked him, how much is the rent, and he said $85 a month in 1964,” she recalled. That’s about as much as many people spend on coffee today.

Ann’s dedication to her work isn’t just about earning money—it’s about caring for people. She treats her customers like friends, whether they buy something or not.

“I don’t care if my customers don’t buy. They come in, we have coffee,” she said. One customer even described her as an “inspiration.”

When asked about the secret to her longevity and success, Ann shared her philosophy on self-care: “[You] must get up, you must shower, you must eat, you must take care of yourself. You must exercise. If you don’t like what you’re doing, then change.”

Her advice is simple but powerful. “Make the most of that day,” she added. “I’m happy working every day.”