A world traveler, an avid golfer and a lifelong gardner, Mary Savignano has done a lot with her 100 years of life.

The 40-year Wareham resident celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday, June 1. The pastor from Savignano's church, St. Patrick's, came to one of her birthday celebrations over the weekend and presented her with a plaque from Pope Francis congratulating her on her 100th birthday. She received 85 cards for her birthday.

"There were 9,100 people in town when I moved here in 1974. I know everybody and everybody knows me," Savignano said. "I just like the small town feeling, having grown up in Boston."

The third oldest of seven children, Savignano grew up in West Roxbury. She said her family moved from Dedham to West Roxbury when she was 9 and at that new home she had her first garden, which started her lifelong love affair with horticulture.

"I'm a dirt gardner," she said. "I dig."

In her backyard there are all different kinds of bushes and flowers and a small plot of land where she grows tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and other plants.

While living in Wareham, Savignano has been active in the Garden Club, the Wareham Village Association, the Tobey Hospital Guild, the Wareham Historical Society and of course the Little Harbor Golf Club.

Mary lives just up the road from the golf course at Little Harbor Country Club. Well into her 90s, Savignano played nine holes, three days a week, walking the course and for decades before that she played 18 holes a day, six days a week. She has hit five hole-in-ones in her life.

"Now I just go out for the exercise," she said. Because of health difficulties she hasn't been on the course in a couple of years but hopes to return at some point.

Savignano said she took up the sport when living on the Westfield State College campus, when she lived next door to to a professional golfer that taught her the sport.

"I just gave up tennis and took up golf," she said.

But while golf might have been her passion, it was tennis that had led her to her love.

Leonard Savignano lived in Newtown and Mary lived in West Roxbury and they just happened to meet on a tennis court in 1939. He then went into the service during World War II and was stationed in Colorado putting together flight crews until 1944.

"We got married on Jan. 19, 1947," she said.

Leonard was the president of Westfield State College from 1961 to 1972, which was why the Savignanos lived on campus and how Mary ended up playing golf.

After leaving Westfield State, Leonard would go on to become the commonwealth professor of international education, working at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

In this capacity the Savignanos traveled all over the world visiting American schools in Saudi Arabia, Romania, Greece, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Malta, Brazil, and many others.

Of all the places she went, Savignano said Portugal was her favorite.

"I liked the people and the atmosphere. It was just very pleasant," she said.

Leonard Savignano died 20 years ago. When asked how the two made their marriage work for 47 years, she said, "I'm just as amazed as everybody else was."

As far as her secret for making it to 100, Savignano said, "Just keeping busy." Even at 100 years old, she makes it look easy.