They call him the super hero without a cape.
His name: Noel Kelly. Age: 94. The super hero tag is not because he is a survivor of one of the deadliest battles of the Second World War, or the heart attack he suffered or because he's coped by himself for the last 18 years since his wife Doris passed away.
No, it's because the longtime Mt Maunganui resident (he's been living there since 1968) has created a special legacy through his 'work' with a kindergarten across the back fence of his home – work he has given for free and which he has no intention of stopping just yet.
In the 40 years the Arataki Kindergarten has been next door, Kelly has been a constant "friendly, smiling face" known as Noel to countless numbers of children and staff – always willing to give his time to help out in any way he can from fixing things, to playing Santa, to supplying fruit and vegetables from his garden.
Known locally as the 'Pillar of Hawea St' for his community-minded spirit, Kelly has now been recognised for his contribution to the kindergarten, receiving an ASB Good as Gold Award.
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"As Roxy Burt, head teacher at the kindergarten says in her nomination, Noel's selfless work shows children that not all super heroes wear capes," says ASB's GM of corporate communications, Christian May. "Super heroes can be our unassuming humble neighbour next door whose kindness and heart for community has meant so much to so many, for so long."
Kelly is definitely unassuming: "It (the ASB award) was the last thing I expected. I just enjoy doing what I can, it keeps me going and you've got to do something, you either use it or lose it," he says.
"On my wall I've got a poster which says 'do not regret growing old, it is a privilege denied to many'. Most of my mates have gone, my wife passed away 18 years ago, and by the time you get to 94 you've seen a lot," he says. "But I can still laugh and walk."
He has experienced much in his life. Between 1942 and 1945 he was with the Royal New Zealand Air Force as ground crew serving during the Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands, a deadly battle against the Japanese lasting for six months and claiming over 7,000 Allied and 24,000 Japanese lives.
After the war he ran his own cartage business in Tirau before moving to Mt Maunganui where "I became a handyman". When the kindergarten opened Kelly was employed as its groundskeeper, a role he continued until turning 90.
Then three years ago he had a heart attack. "I didn't know I'd had it, I thought I had indigestion," he says. "So I went to the doctor and the next thing I'm in an ambulance going to hospital."
Apart from his family (he has three sons, a daughter and so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren he has lost count) those most thankful he survived are the kids and staff from the kindergarten next door.
Kelly remembers when it opened never thinking he would be around 40 years later still helping out.
"It's just one of these things that happened," he says. "I'm a handy sort of person; if a tap washer breaks they'll call me to fix it, I repair toys, when my plants flower I'll take some over to them or I take over mandarins, lettuce or carrots from the garden.
"All the kids sing out when they see me and I give them a wave."
A life member of the Mt Maunganui RSA, Kelly visits the kindergarten for their Anzac Day celebrations: "I put on my jacket with my medals and let the kids look at them. I think it's important because we (war veterans) are a dying breed."
Some parents who today enroll their children at Arataki remember Kelly from their days at the kindergarten: "I get them coming up to me but I don't know who they are, they've grown up," he says.
Burt says Kelly is like a grandfather to the children and it is hard to know where to start to describe the contributions he has made.
"The selfless, heartfelt ways in which he has contributed to our kindergarten have provided an extra richness to the experience you cannot put a price on.
"You will still find him on weekends weeding our gardens, tidying the lawn edges and clearing the children's bike track – it's the little things that make the biggest difference for us here. He fixes latches, hangs paintings, re-furbishes old furniture, fixes bikes, paints fences, prunes plants and trees – he does it all without expecting anything in return," Burt says.
"Noel is an avid gardener who is always sharing his wisdom as well as his produce with us.
"He provides a walking talking model of community spirit, kindness and generosity that our children aspire to become themselves," she says. "He has been the one constant and therefore our link to the past and the history of our kindergarten.
"For 40 years he has always been that friendly, smiling face over the fence, always ready with a smile, a wave and a joke or two – and reminding us of the most important things in life."