Margaret Dean turns 100 today. Photo / Andrew Warner
Margaret Dean turns 100 today. Photo / Andrew Warner
A family that rides together stays together, or at least that is what the motocross-mad Dean family believe.
And perhaps it's also what has kept Margaret Dean, the matriarch of the Dean clan, fit and well to celebrate her 100th birthday today, as she has been riding along dirt tracksfor close to 80 years.
And while she isn't as mobile as she used to be, her walker comes in handy when she is in the mood for doing some doughnuts across the room.
Could the secret to a long life be six cups of tea a day? Because it has certainly worked for Margaret Dean. Photo / Andrew Warner
Close to 140 people, including her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren joined her centenary celebrations at the weekend.
It comes as no surprise to learn the length of the guest list, however, because, with a smile as infectious as Margaret's, it's no wonder she has so many friends.
Along with her positive spirit, her daughter Shelley believes her competitive streak keeps her ticking.
"You've also got to have a good disposition; you've got to have a good attitude towards life itself.
Margaret Dean swaps motorcycle helmets for blokarting ones for the Christmas after a broken hip. The 100-year-old is game for anything and the higher the adrenaline rush the better. Photo / Supplied
"She is really open to people and knew more people on my street from two days than I had met in six months."
Starting her life in Whakatāne, she soon moved to Tauranga in 1948 after marrying Dixie Dean when he returned from the war.
Along with Shelley, she also has daughter Glennis Couchman and twin sons, Peter and Robert.
They started their family life by setting up base on the "outskirts" of Tauranga, as it was then, on Devonport Rd where the new Farmers building is being constructed.
But just over 50 years ago they took the sturdy weatherboard house, cut it in two, before winding its way up to its new, secluded bush location in Ohauiti.
So where to next for the 100-year-old go-getter?
"She has been working on four-year plans and saying 'well I have to reach the next Rugby World Cup'."
It's not the image of Beauden Barret running across the pitch that gets her up at 3am to watch them, although he is her favourite, it's her love of sport in all its forms.
She has played bowls, golf, netball, basketball, badminton and tennis across the span of her lifetime, just to name a few.
"What we do every day is play a bit of lacrosse with the small plastic baskets, and all her old muscle instincts click in even though her memory might be going."
However, lacrosse is very tame to what she usually gets up to. Last year she went blokarting with her son and canoeing to see the glow worms at McLaren Falls.
Margaret Dean (nee Howat) married Dixie Dean in Whakatāne the day before Anzac Day 1948. Following her marriage, she moved to Tauranga. Photo / Supplied
Shelley said it is because she remains interested in everything that she never says no, hence why they used to make a point of doing something new each month.
"We saw an advert in the paper about looking for models not too long ago and we went down, but then the guy asked her to take off her top.
"He was just looking for portraits from the shoulders up. But she was pretty game."
Although Margaret is not promising she will be around for the next Rugby World Cup, Shelley said to have her for a mother this long was a blessing already.
"We think we are pretty lucky to have a mother that is such a joy to be with."
