Ka hikohiko te uira he tohu mate, he tohu rangatira, Kua hinga te kauri nui, takoto mai rā Don ki roto i to moe, takoto mai rā ki roto i nga ringa ahuru o ou tipuna, haere, haere, haere atu ra e hika, haere i runga i te maha o nga kupu poroporoaki kua uhia nei ki runga i a koe, kei te rangatira o te whanau Farr Moe mai ra i to moengaroa. ko koutou te tira wairua ki a koutou ka huri aku mihi ki te hunga ora Jan aue te mamae o taku ngakau ka kore au e whai waahi te tae atu ki te tangihanga o tō hoa rangatira, me te tuku i aku mihi aroha nei ki a koe, oti ra korua ko Beks, koutou ko to whanau hoki, aroha mai e kui, heoi ano kei konei e au e mihi ki a korua ko Beks oti rā ki a koutou ko to whanau e tangi nei, kia kaha rā koutou ki roto i to koutou taumahatanga, Me whai kaha ki roto i nga maumaharatanga, e noho tonu nei ki roto i te whatumanawa ake ake ake tonu atu. anei aku roimata, aku whakaaro nui, aku mihi, aku kupu poroporoaki ki a koutou. The lightning flashing in the sky is a sign, someone special has passed, a great kauri tree of the forest has fallen, farewell Don, sleep forever in peaceful slumber, now in the comfort of your ancestors, farewell, farewell farewell, go now dear friend let the multitude of words acknowledging you, celebrating you, and praising you in life, now carry your spirit on its next journey while your body sleeps in its forever sleep, you are now of the spirit world and we remain in the world of the living and I offer my dearest condolences to you Jan, my heart pains because I wasnt able to make the service for Don, my love and thoughts go out to you and Beks and the whanau at this time, be strong in your time of sadness, we can find strength in the memories we hold, the stories we tell and share, our loved ones never really die because of those memories and stories, again I send my tears, my thoughts, my words of condolence to you Jan and Beks and to your whanau. Mike

the man who trod the boards has exited appropriately stage left the man who came to Stammtisch conversation and laughter the gardener who taught how you needed to know the temperature of the soil before you laid the plant’s tender tendrils the man who with Jan fought the good fight for so many years together latterly, bringing the Crier to our letterboxes lugging election hoardings on the old trailer what a partnership Don and Jan sometimes Dr Spooner intervened and we called them John and Dan a witness to their unity later when things were becoming more opaque petanque was one field in which he could still reach out to a target in the sand the thing I want to remember is Don’s laugh even when it echoed in the halls of bewilderment it still sounded out as it had at evenings and days of food and friendship a happy sound to be remembered by hopefully you found amongst us companionship in the gloaming of your days haere ra, e hoa good bye friend Keith Thorsen

On behalf of myself and my mother (Elaine) we want to pass on our condolences. We remember Don from the days of him working at the family grocery store in Island Bay. Don was always a gracious and kind man. His kind are needed in the world and we were lucky to have had many interactions with him through those years.

I was priviledged to have known Don from many years of being his dentist in Wellington. Such a truly lovely man. I remember him telling me once of how he had been visiting farms for a Labour Party campaign in Wairarapa, walking long farm roads to meet farmers in National Party heartland. He said he was always given a courteous and friendly meeting. You could not meet Don but to know that he was a kind man, with his heart in the right place. My deepest condolences to Jan and family. Ross Jackson