Margaret Dinah Begg, of Rangiora, passed away peacefully at Burwood Hospital on January 14.
“Dearly loved wife of the late Joe. Loved mother and mother-in-law of Basil (Bas) and Jean (both deceased), Owen (deceased) and Shirley, and Christine and Ron Chinnery,” her death notice said.
Mrs Begg had 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
“Margaret was a loved sister, sister-in-law, aunty, and a great friend to many, her sense of humour will be sadly missed by many.”
Speaking on her 100th birthday to North Canterbury News, Mrs Begg's daughter Christine Chinnery, of Leithfield, said her mother was born in Rangiora on July 24, 1917.
Mrs Begg’s parents, John (Jack) and Dinah Hide, were both born in New Zealand.
They had a small farm on Main Drain Rd, Fernside.
Mrs Begg was their third youngest child of nine, and the youngest of their four daughters.
Mrs Begg met her husband, Joseph (Joe), at one of the regular dances held at Ohoka and Fernside.
They married on May 24, 1941, in Rangiora and began their married life together in Swannanoa, where they were farm workers. They moved to Southbrook and lived there until 1954 when they moved to Kaiapoi.
Mrs Begg worked at Lichfield Shirts in Kaiapoi as an examiner of the finished garment for about 30 years and Mr Begg worked as a shepherd at the Belfast Freezing Works until his death in 1973.
Mrs Begg was a bright scholar and a talented athlete in her youth.
She earned the dux medal at Fernside School in 1930, and played basketball (now netball) for the Ohoka Basketball Club.
In September 2014, as one of Fernside School's oldest former pupils, Mrs Begg had the honour of cutting the cake at the school’s 150th jubilee celebrations.
She was a keen traveller and made several trips to England, Scotland, Canada, Fiji and Australia.
