(Picture: Mookie ‘The Birthday Woman’ (because at 100 ‘girl’ seems stretching it) celebrates with her son Arthur Botha and daughter Audrey Van Der Merwe.)
On 8 January 2026, Wilhelmina Jacoba “Mookie” Botha marked her 100th birthday, surrounded by 50 friends and family members who travelled from all over the country to honour her extraordinary life that spans a full century. The celebrations took place at her loving daughter Audrey’s house in Sedgefield.
Born in 1926 in a grass rondavel near Gwelo in what was then Rhodesia, Mookie grew up as the youngest of eight children in a world with ox wagons, farm schools and radical self-reliance as the norm. A self professed ‘tomboy’, she preferred soccer, hunting and, the outdoors. Almost 95 years ago Mookie was walking many miles to school and making her own toys from clay and sticks.
Sadly her childhood ended abruptly at the age of 14 when her mother passed away and her father was left bedridden after a serious accident. With remarkable courage, Mookie took over the running of the household and farm, cycling produce to market, tending livestock and keeping the family afloat through ingenuity and hard work.
At just 17, she married Dennis Botha, and together they built a life grounded in faith, determination and perseverance. They raised two children, built their own home brick by brick, and faced life’s challenges with resilience and humour.
Mookie’s working life was equally impressive. A gifted seamstress, she sewed for generations of family and clients and later worked her way up to Buyer and Costing Manageress for a major retailer. She finally retired from her last paying job at the age of 93.
Mookie, who has two children, five grandchildren and ten great grand children spread all over the world from Cape Town to Durban to England to USA, still tends her vegetable garden which provides many neighbourhood households with fresh produce. She continues to enjoy puzzles and technology, and has developed a special fondness for the local indigenous Thick-knee birds, adding ornithology to the list of hobbies she continues to enjoy.
Reflecting on her long life, Mookie says simply, “Life was not always easy, but God was always faithful. If you keep going and stay thankful, you will be amazed at what you can overcome.”
Her 100th birthday celebration was a fitting tribute paid by her loved ones, to a woman whose life reflects grit, grace, unwavering faith, and a century truly well lived.
