FOR just shy of 100 years, Muriel Vera Adams (Maudie) lived the good life.
She loved her horses, a spot of knitting, crocheting and embroidering, music and an occasional scotch on the rocks.
But always at the centre of her wonderful life was family.
Maudie died peacefully at Regis Aged Care on April 11, 2020, in her 100th year.
She was born in Underbool to Thomas and Elizabeth a’Beckett on June 25, 1920, and was the youngest of nine children. She loved her simple life on the farm, riding her horse Cupie, and collecting many ribbons at local horse shows.
In 1941, she married Richard (Dick) Adams. Their first child Ken was born in 1942, then came along Sherryl in 1947, followed by Laurrine in 1949 and Naree in 1956.
The couple owned a fruit block, where winter would be spent working together pruning or pulling out the vines, while in summer, she would take big billies of tea and cake out to the pickers.
Her children recall eating mandarins from the trees, or watermelon or rock melon that had been wrapped in a wet hessian bag to keep it cool, as they sat on the back step.
Maudie’s lifelong love of the outdoors extended to her own garden, where she would often be seen on her hands and knees weeding and tending to the plants, and Easter camping was a family favourite.
In more recent times, Easter camping was replaced with a Good Friday event, and Christmas has since been taken over by the grandkids, but family always remained at the cornerstone of all those traditional holidays.
In reflecting on her life, Maudie’s family recalled her loyal companion, Tyno the Pomeranian, who was always sitting on her lap or being carried. They joked that they didn’t actually have any memory of Tyno walking.
Another great memory was spending Saturdays at the football, where Maudie, who always had a love of cooking, would prepare a chocolate cake and a thermos of tea that the family would enjoy at half-time.
Her home was filled with exquisite furniture pieces, a testament to her love of antiques, as well as music, with her family reflecting that she was amazing on the piano and loved to sing and dance.
But admittedly she didn’t love all music.
As her daughter Naree recalled, after once listening to some modern jazz, Maudie said: “For goodness sake, Naree, that music sounds just like a billy goat pooping in a tin can.”
In early 2016, Maudie moved to Regis Aged Care, where she made her room very homely and never lost her famous wit.
Maudie was an adored mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother.
And as her family summed up, her “cherished memories will live on”.
