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'I won't see mummy again will I daddy?” asks three-year-old William Peeters. 'No son, you won't,” is dad Richard's saddening reply.

Jen Peeters – loving mother of William and loving wife of Richard – died August last year after a brave battle with breast cancer. Their only son William was just two-years-old.

William (centre) and Richard Peeters releasing the birds before the Pink Walk. Photos: Tracy Hardy.

'The questions are starting to come now,” says Richard. 'You've just got to address them at the time and take it as fast or as slow as he needs.”

The 41-year-old father is sharing their story after he and William were chosen to release the birds at tonight's House of Travel (HOT) Pink Walk – a fundraiser for Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service.

Tauranga's Red Square turned pink this evening as crowds gathered to celebrate, support and honour those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jen was 23 weeks pregnant with son William when she was diagnosed in October 2011. Some two weeks later, Jen had a mastectomy and began chemotherapy treatment.

Holding off the birth of her baby boy so he could grow for as long as possible, Jen had a caesarean and welcomed baby William into the world 34 weeks early. After her 'little miracle” was born, Jen continued with the chemotherapy.

In July 2013, the 38-year-old was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which means the cancer had spread to her chest and lungs. It would later spread to her brain. She was aged 39 when she died.

'You have your ups and downs,” admits Richard, 'but at the end of the day I've got a nearly four-year-old to look after. He's my focus and it's about trying to keep life as normal as possible.

'We light a candle for mum every night at dinner, and he blows it out.”

It took Richard and Jen three-and-a-half years and four rounds of IVF to have their son William. He's a special young man.

Richard says Jen kept an active Facebook page, where they shared her journey to inform friends and family of her progress.

Since Jen's passing, Richard has designed a keepsake for William using ‘My Social Book', which enables people to transform a Facebook account into book form.

'I've got four books,” he says, 'and every two years I've created a book so it shows the journey.”

Jen set up her Facebook account in 2008, when she and Richard married. 'So it's basically a catalogue of our journey together,” says Richard. 'For William it's a documented calendar of our lives that he can look back on in the future.”

Richard's kept cards from the funeral and all correspondence from when Jen was sick, as well as photos and medical records which he keeps in a trunk for William so he can learn as much as he can about his mother as he grows up.

The family has also commissioned a memorial seat at Tay Street beach in Mount Maunganui for people to pay their respects if they wish. 'It's a significant place for Jen and I – we used to go to the beach all the time and walk our dog.”

Richard says Jen always put people first. 'She had a caring nature and loved the outdoors,” he says.

'She was a teacher, so that caring aspect was brought out. She was a geography teacher and that enabled her to share her love of the outdoors with others.

'She was bubbly and kind-hearted – my perfect match.”

He says the family has been involved with Breast Cancer NZ and Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service since Jen's diagnosis, and were happy to front the bird release at this year's HOT Pink Walk.

'Once you're involved in that community, you realise the importance of education and the support and the need for research to find a cure,” says Richard.

'It opens your eyes up and you really want to help those who want to or have helped you.”

Richard's message to fellow fathers and widowed husbands is to keep a close support network.

'For me, it's hard to ask people to help. I've never been a person to ask people for help, but when you're a solo parent you need it.

'Don't be scared to ask, because the help is there if you want it. Keep those you love close to you, and don't shut people out because they're there for you as well.

'The pain will always be there, but it gets easier.”

Tauranga Breast Cancer Support service manager Lea Lehndorf says it's hard to judge attendance compared to previous years, as the HOT Pink Walk started at a different venue.

"But it really did feel like more this year. The atmosphere was awesome and there were plenty of smiles I could see. We'll post the total funds raised on our Facebook page as soon as we have it finalised."

Tonight's HOT Pink Walk follows the Pink Papamoa Walk on October 11, which raised $1,973.80.

'It was a fantastic turnout and that's an awesome result to help us continue supporting those diagnosed with breast cancer and those living with breast cancer in our community,” says Lea.