Four generations celebrate 100th birthday
<p>A special century was celebrated with music, balloon animals and cake at Maygrove Lifecare Resthome.</p>
<p>Resident Maria Welman, who turned 100 years old recently, enjoyed the milestone with staff, friends, and four generations of her family.</p>
<p>Seated in the front row with a tiara on her head, Maria enjoyed a performance by magician and balloon artist Mr Walnut, and a moving rendition of Ave Maria by her granddaughter Danielle.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/37017/2_497x280.jpg" alt="2 (176)"/></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Maygrove Lifecare Resthome staff with 100 year old Maria Welman. Image credit: Matthew Cattin.</em></p>
<p>At 100, staff say Maria is still very sharp, but slips into her mother tongue Dutch more than she used to.</p>
<p>She's known for her cheeky sense of humour, and has a mischievous habit of ringing the assistance bell just to get everybody in her room.</p>
<p>"She's got quite a sense of humour, and the girls here put up with quite a lot from mum," daughter Lily Parker says.</p>
<p>Maria's favourite spot during the day is a chair in the facility's sunny courtyard.</p>
<p>She claims a little bit of vitamin D every day is the secret to ageing well.</p>
<p>Born in Haarlem in the Netherlands, Maria is the last surviving sibling of 10 children.</p>
<p>She worked for a time as a shop assistant, and married Antonius Welman in Amsterdam in 1944.</p>
<p>Her first daughter was born in 1948, and Lily followed a decade later.</p>
<p>The family moved to New Zealand in the early 80s, but Maria and Antonius returned to the Netherlands in 1989 to care for Maria's grandmother, who also lived to 100.</p>
<p>When Antonius died in 1996, Maria decided to move to New Zealand to live with her daughters, but was delayed by injuries sustained while on holiday in the Netherlands.</p>
<p>"She took her cup and saucer to the kitchen, fell two metres down into the cellar and broke every bone in her body," Parker says.</p>
<p>The fall delayed her departure by a few years, but she eventually made it to New Zealand where she has remained since.</p>
<p>In her later years, Maria enjoyed bowls and crafts, and up until last year, she was still creating handmade 3D greetings cards. </p>
<p><em>Written by Matthew Cattin. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stuff.co.nz</strong></span></a>. Image credit: Matthew Cattin. </em></p>
