Couple almost made it to 80 years of marriage
Three months from their 80th wedding anniversary, Methuen Mabin held the hand of his beloved wife Margaret and kissed her for the final time.
In his 107th year, Methuen Huia Burton ‘Meth’ Mabin died peacefully at their care home on May 17.
He and his wife Margaret Mabin, 104, were believed to be one of the oldest couples in New Zealand with more than two centuries of life between them.
Sitting in the Christchurch retirement home room they shared for nearly three years, Margaret’s chin wobbled and her voice quivered speaking of her grief.
“It just seems to come over in waves.” She swiftly lifted her eyes and smiled as she joked the orange jumper she wore wouldn’t normally be her colour of choice – a pleasant “get on with it” attitude matching that of her late husband’s fuss-free nature.
Margaret said they shared “a very happy life” together enjoying good health, summers abroad, time in the garden and on the tennis court – without an argument ever taking place.
Her husband was a lover of the outdoors and a keen sportsman – an unbeaten century for his Nelson College cricket side and a hole in one at the Christchurch Golf Club were special memories.
Gardening was another fond interest he gave up aged 104, when he started to struggle returning to his feet after weeding.
Humour was an unwavering pillar throughout Methuen’s life.
Telling medical staff “he didn’t have a bad body for a 105-year-old” was a line he enjoyed, and after renewing his driving licence following his 100th birthday he joked with an instructor it was time for a trip to Arthur’s Pass.
The pair raised three children – Judy, 78, Keith, 75, and Barb, 68 – as well as six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren who are scattered around the world.
Methuen died about four months before the birth of his 10th great-grandchild.
Her father was “very fair, and very loving”, his youngest child Barb McKenzie said.
“His devotion to mum radiated a very special warmth,” eldest child Judy McGregor added.
“Dad so loved us all and it was obvious in everything he did.”
His only son Keith Mabin said they had a lot of “great” family holidays outdoors growing up – including one when they accidentally pitched a tent in the same paddock as a bull.
But it was their passion for tennis that led Methuen to meet Margaret McIntosh over a match at Silverstream, now a suburb of Upper Hutt, in 1937.
Their romance was interrupted by the start of World War II. Methuen enlisted with the army and was sent to Fort Dorset in Wellington to serve with the Royal Artillery.
He further served in the Solomon Islands, Egypt and Italy.
His family believe Methuen could have been the oldest living WWII veteran.
It was while Methuen was on leave from the war in 1944 that he and Margaret wed in a small church ceremony.
After the war and a period in Wellington, the pair moved to Christchurch in 1961.
Methuen worked in insurance and devoted decades to volunteering at St Barnabas Church and sat on various group boards.
He took up painting after retiring and his landscape paintings grace the homes of his family around the world.
Margaret said she had “plenty of family support” following her husband’s death.
The family held a private service.