Spunky 101-year-old woman has uplifting advice after she took up new, unusual hobby to cope with daughter’s death

She has resiliency down to a fine art.

A tough-as-nails 101-year-old Brooklyn woman took up coloring to cope with grief after her daughter’s death — and is churning out the detail-oriented art despite being blind in one eye.

Josephine Nigro — who defied odds by surviving an early case of COVID-19 — lights up the pages of her grown-up coloring books with a rainbow of gel pens to cope with the stress and sadness of life.

“It takes you away from reality for a little while. It doesn’t promise you cure … but it promises a diversion, so that’s my hobby. I love it,” said Nigro, of Borough Park, who was born in Brooklyn in March 1923.

Mom of NYC teen allegedly assaulted by James Madison HS coach ‘not really surprised’ by new sexual hazing claim

A friend got Nigro — who is affectionately nicknamed Grandma Jo — her first coloring book a decade ago after her only child, Linda Vitale, died of breast cancer, she said.

“When she died, I thought I’d go out of my mind,” Nigro said, adding she needed an outlet for her crushing sadness.

“A friend mailed me a coloring book with markers … but I had no artistic ability or desire for it. But since she was so kind to send it, I [said] I would try,” she said, adding she soon fell in love with the hobby.

Despite having no vision in one eye, the spunky centenarian now uses a magnifying glass to color perfectly inside the lines with some help from an aide.

“I can’t really distinguish between an orange and other colors, but if I say, give me a purple, that’s what they give me and then I kind of balance the colors,” she said, adding she colors every day for an hour. “It’s all freestyle.”

The feisty fogey — who worked as a stenographer in her younger days — was coloring a flower as she joyfully sang along to a Rod Stewart tune when The Post visited her Friday.

Hippie urban farmers to get evicted from NYC plot before they can harvest crops — as new luxury development breaking ground

In 2021, Nigro fell ill from COVID-19 but managed to recover despite her age with some help from the art to lift her spirits.

“I was sick, but it was tolerable and I went through the usual thing, but it wasn’t extreme and I was healed. I made it. I went through it,” she said.

Nigro, who adores fashion and big band music, considers herself lucky to still be mentally sharp.

“Thank heaven my brain is working. I really don’t feel my age. I don’t dwell on it. I don’t think of being young … as you get older, just accept your good fortune,” she said

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR METRO DAILY NEWSLETTER

When she gets down she gives herself a pep talk — telling herself,  “Who is that old person? It can’t be me.”

Caren Lewis, one of her friends, called her a firecracker with plenty of enthralling stories about her long life.

“She is amazing. She has a lot of spunk. I like to hear her stories about her life. She amazes all the time,” Lewis said.

Her grandson, who is a prosecutor in Virginia, now has her artwork hanging in his office, Nigro said.

Ultimately, the key to a long, happy life is helping other people — and not folding when times are tough, she said.

“I’d say be kind to one another, be helpful to one another, encourage people, and when things aren’t good try to make the best of it, try to do the things that you would not think possible,” she said.

“I say stress you’re gonna find, avoid it when you can — and overcome it where you can,” she said.

For the latest metro stories, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/metro/