When asked how it felt to turn 100 years old, Marie De La Torre laughed and said, “It feels like I’m 100.”
“I don’t know whether I’m grateful or thankful,” she added. “And I’ve had a wonderful life because of [God]. He’s the one that makes decisions. I’ve had a wonderful life.”
De La Torre celebrated her special day with a surprise party at Casa Lupita in Castaic organized by her daughter Sherry Lee Howard. Several of her friends and family members traveled from across the country to join her.
“I’m excited to see her be 100,” said Howard, who also acts as her mother’s caretaker. “She was supposed to just come her for a quick lunch for her birthday, but she didn’t know all this was going to happen.”
De La Torre and her late husband Andy rose to fame through their contributions to the motocross scene throughout the late 20th century. Owners of Mid-Valley Cycles in Van Nuys, they established close ties to several celebrity motocross riders including Roger DeCoster, Joel Robert and Torsten Hallman. The De La Torres’ influence helped support motocross both in the United States and abroad.
“It was a good time,” De La Torre said. “I came in because of my husband, and he told me, ‘You have to work with me.’ I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ So, I took care of his books. He took care of the business. And I did the flying. I did the work that I had to do.”
“My husband loved to travel from city to city racing,” she added. “So, we had a ball travelling. We had a ball racing. We met a lot of people. I went clear across the U.S. and back.”
“I would just hope that the boys around the world would appreciate her and all of the effort that they gave those boys for motocross,” Howard said. “It was a family gathering all the time.”
Several decades later, De La Torre is still loved by her friends and family for her feisty, energetic spirit.
“This lady’s bad,” said De La Torre’s nephew Andrew. “She’s known as ‘Motorcycle Mama’ because she had motocross race teams in Europe as well as here, and there’s a whole bunch of big famous names in motocross and they all love her. She’s been ‘Mom’ to so many different people. She’s incredible, and she’s just go-go-go-go-go. She’s unstoppable.”
Also at the party was Howard’s friend Mary Blanchard, whose own 100th birthday is later this month and who had her party the day before De La Torre’s.
“I feel like an antique,” Blanchard joked. “That’s what an antique is! They have to be 100! But I feel good. I’m very healthy. I still teach exercise class. I play cards three days a week. I drive down to Frazier Park. I have my driver’s license until I’m 104.”
Blanchard partially attributes her longevity to her daily ritual of having a glass of red wine and 12 almonds every night at 5 p.m., and she’s learned several important lessons throughout her life.
“Be patient and love people and think of the best of them,” she said. “And don’t criticize. Everybody has a reason for doing things, and it’s just very important. You’re not walking in their shoes. So, they have a reason for doing what they do. Just smile and be happy.”
