Tauranga's Mae Hawkes didn't really have an affinity with numbers, despite the fact she lived for more than 100 years.

Trish Morrow describes her mother as the 'matriarch” of the family, Mae's amazing innings ended on June 6, 2016, aged 106.

The late Mae Hawkes with the birthday card she received from the Queen in 2014. Photo: Chris Callinan.

Yes that's correct the six day of the sixth month of the year 2016, she was 106. Trish says Mae loved having family around her all the time.

Mae had lost about 90 per cent of her sight and her hearing but Trish says it didn't stop Mae from loving to tell stories. At 106, you often had plenty of material to call on.

'She was wonderful with children. She just loved grandkids and little ones coming [to visit]… She knew all the family, she knew who was this and how were they and have ‘you seen them lately?' Right up until she died.

'Her short term memory wasn't the best but after a week it seemed to turn into long term memory and she would remember again. Honestly she astounded us, she really did, she was amazing.”

Back in October last year, SunLive interviewed Mae when she turned 106. She had plenty of little gems to tell our readers about.

One was how she met her husband.

'I had more than one,” Mae giggled. The first one was a school teacher and the other an insurance agent. 'So I got well educated.”

But the details on how they met were fuzzy. 'It was a long time ago for one person to try and remember. But my memory's not too bad.” She paused at the time. 'It's not too good either.

'There's more than 100 years of memories, more than 100 years of them. You can't expect me to remember.

'I can't help being what age I am,” Mae laughed.

Mae's son Max Barclay says his mother married three times during her life time and love her family.

'She was a pretty good mum and terribly proud, even when it wasn't justified. She was always proud of her family and totally loyal.”

He says Mae's focal point was always her family.

'She always knew what they were doing and where they were doing it and she always put her hand up to help.”

Trish says her mother enjoyed talking to SunLive.

'SunLive were very, very good to mum and I tell you what. She loved [the attention]. I've got all the newspaper clippings that she kept. I've kept them too obviously.”

When Mae died on June 6, the family decided to have a quiet gathering to commemorate her life, as per her request.

'She was brought up in the old school that women didn't go to funerals… She would go to the funeral service but she would never ever go to the grave site.”

Trish says it was a lovely gathering and fitting for what her mother would have wanted.

'It was a family and friends afternoon for her and people got up and talked. She would've absolutely loved it. Just having the family and friends there.”

Mae is survived by three children, nine grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.