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MOSSEL BAY NEWS & VIDEO - She has had the most wonderful life, says Nellie Lotter, not once but several times during her interview with the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
Nellie celebrated her 98th birthday on 18 March and her daughter Jeni Nel, who lives with her in the Protea retirement village, Heiderand, says they are already gearing up for the "double zero".
At two years short of 100, Nellie emanates energy.
Born in Kimberley, her father worked on the railways, which saw the family move around quite a bit before settling in Cape Town.
"My father was a signalman and I loved going to work with him when I had the chance. He always made me a nice cup of tea and a sandwich."
Nellie says that her "most wonderful life" included a "most wonderful husband".
She met Stanley Arthur Lotter, a dead ringer for Clark Kent, aka Superman, on a blind date. Although not too impressed with him at first, his persistence won her over and they had a good marriage of 66 years.
Nellie reckons that her good health and spirited old age is thanks to her Stanley.
"I never worked a day after we got married in 1950. He wanted me to be home and take care of the children to come," she chuckles.
They did everything together.
Nellie and Stanley on their wedding day.
Nellie as a young bride.
Industrious
She says that as a keen seamstress, she loved her sewing machine.
"My mom made all our clothes, apart from our underwear and our shoes," says her daughter, Jeni, who is the local ambassador for 67 Blankets for Mandela Day.
She has 100 women knitting for this project, Jeni told the Advertiser.
"And I am one of them," Nellie chips in proudly.
"We call her Mrs Dropstitch," Jeni teases.
Nellie showed the Advertiser bed socks that she had completed.
"Jeni puts them together. I now focus on knitting squares for the blankets." She points to a stack of completed squares.
Speaking of socks, Nellie knitted her husband's socks from the day they were married until he passed away in 2014 at 92.
"He never liked shop socks. I took over this task from his mother. It was a real labour of love."
Royal affair
Before she got married, Nellie worked at Stuttafords, where she had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She met the royal family on their visit to South Africa in 1947.
Nellie was chosen to receive the Queen Mother and the two princesses, Margaret and Elizabeth. Beforehand, they were taught all the correct protocol, including how to curtsy.
"It was just before Princess Elizabeth's 21st birthday, which she celebrated in Cape Town. She was very nice and I was very pleased later when she became queen."
As for Princess Margaret, she left a totally different impression on Nellie.
"She was a little horror, running and jumping around all over."
The Queen Mother, Nellie says, told her to just relax and treat her like she would any other customer in the shop.
"She bought fabric and said that she would have it made into dresses for the girls when they returned to England."
Afterwards, the party had tea in Stuttafords' restaurant, where Nellie joined them.
"And then we had a good old chat," she chuckles again.
VIDEO: No ordinary 98 year old
Travels
When Stanley retired, he took Nellie on the road for 27 years. And loved it, she did.
They bought a caravan and travelled all over Southern Africa - "off the beaten track", she points out.
When arthritis set in, they exchanged their caravan for cruise ships. Again, they travelled to their heart's content.
In 2014, after Stanley suffered a heart attack, their travels ended.
"The doctor said 'no more cruising'," Jeni says.
Nellie smiles.
"I miss my caravans and my cruises."
Nellie has four children, eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
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