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Margaret Pratt celebrated her century in style.
Margaret Pratt celebrated her century in style.
The phrase “100 years young” could have been invented for Margaret Pratt, who celebrated her landmark birthday at Summerset Falls in Warkworth on Friday, February 5.
The sprightly centenarian, who still lives independently in her own cottage at the Mansel Drive retirement village, enjoyed a special lunch with friends and family, surrounded by flowers, gifts and cards, including official congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II, the Governor-General of New Zealand, Patsy Reddy, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Margaret was born in Dunedin and lived in Hawkes Bay for 50 years, before retiring to Mount Maunganui. After her husband of 62 years passed away, she moved to Warkworth eight years ago to be near her daughters, Susan, who lives at Sandspit, and Brenda, in Orewa.
She said the move north had been a good one for her.
“I’m very happy here,” she said. “I’ve made lots of lovely friends here. I was an outsider, but they have made me feel very welcome.”
Margaret is a key member of the Friday Girls, a trio of ladies who have their hair done and have lunch together at the end of every week, and she also plays mahjong and does plenty of crosswords. She has no magic formula for how to live a long and healthy life, however.
“I really don’t know,” she said. “I do have a rest every afternoon now – I didn’t used to do that.”
However, she does think it’s important to appreciate the good things in life.
“I’ve had a very long and happy life. And I’ve had some hard times, too – we had a son, who was killed.
But I think you appreciate the happy times more when you’ve been through something hard.”
