The thin lady with the fuzzy gray hair glides through the series of stomps, slides, turns and heel-toes.

Although she’s older than most in the Joyce Raye Patterson Senior Citizens Center’s line dancing class, her skills and enthusiasm soar above the rest.

Dance. That’s what Ima Jean “Happy” Angold loves most. It keeps her young, healthy and, like her nickname, happy. At 79, it’s a big reason why she’s ready to embrace the years beyond 80.

“I’m gonna live a long time,” said Happy, her bright blue eyes wide with determination.

Part of her motivation stems from a successful battle with the cancer that took away her long hair and left her with the fuzz. She’s stronger now and embraces life more.

She knows that when some people think of approaching 80, they think of nursing homes and wheelchairs.

Not Happy.

Sure, she crochets and plays dominos, but she also e-mails, bowls and mows her lawn.

She gave up riding a motorcycle five years ago. Actually, she was forced to give it up. One of her two sons “grounded” her from motorcycles, she said.

She took off on the motorcycle to impress her 11-year-old grandson. The ride didn’t end up so well. She broke an arm. But she’ll tell you it wasn’t her fault.

“A tree jumped out in front of me,” she said with a mischievous smile.

Age, she says, is all a matter of perspective.

“It’s all about your outlook, and I have a positive outlook,” she said.

Happy’s been on her own for 15 years, since her husband, Ralph, passed away. With the support of her sons, she moved from the house she’d called home her entire adult life to a house of her own.

“I had thought I was too old to move somewhere different,” she said. “But I finally got brave.”

A year ago, the news came: She had breast cancer. Her two older sisters had fought the same illness.

Chemotherapy made her sick, and losing her hair was embarrassing. She had a mastectomy. She let it get her down at first, she acknowledges.

Her hair has started to grow back, and she’s been cancer free for several months.

She looks around at many others her age — those who can’t live on their own — and knows: “I’ve been lucky,” she said.

She has a new outlook.

“Now, I’m focusing on living life and not worrying,” she said.

The amount of time she’s been on her own parallels the amount of time she’s been dancing.

Her husband wasn’t much of a dancer. Instead, sail boating and paddle boating was the couple’s version of dancing.

Her friend, Pat Fitzmaurice, also 79, is Happy’s dancing partner in crime.

“People think there’s something wrong with us because we dance so much,” Ms. Fitzmaurice said, laughing.

Happy’s goals for the rest of her life are simple, yet fulfilling.

“I just want to dance and mow the grass and keep the house up,” she said.

Nancy Hull can be reached at nancyhull@npgco.com.