Apart from when Mary and Graham came to New Zealand while Helen and Charles were living in Wellington, I had not seen Mary for many years so my memories of her were mostly from my childhood and the many times the Moore, Reeves and Hewett families gathered together. On these busy and boisterous occasions, Mary was always an oasis of calm and was always smiling that warm, serene but twinkly smile. In fact, if it hadn’t been for that trip to New Zealand when it was wonderful to catch up with Graham and Mary again, that is how I would have remembered Mary: as warm and serene. However, when we saw them in New Zealand, she and Graham recounted the story of a trip they had made in a hired car in Fiji. Most tourists content themselves with driving round the island on the well-made coast road. Graham, of course was not deterred by unmade roads and so, having checked with a local that a road heading in from the coast went across the island to the other coast, the decision was made to traverse the island. This unmade road turned out to be much more unmade than expected and the car got stuck. I can’t remember how they got out of the situation but when they told us the story not long afterwards, my impression is that Mary had taken the whole thing as a glorious adventure. So, that twinkle in Mary’s smile was just as significant as her warmth and calm: it was a sign of her spirit of fun and adventure.
Go well, Mary. With love to all the Moore family, Mandy Hewett