7 December 1951 - 8 February 2019

A service to celebrate Constance's life will be held at Olive Tree Cottage, 247 Joyce Road, Tauranga on Thursday, 14^th February at 12:30pm.

May we sweep the heaviness from our hearts.

May our weeping pass.

May our longing and sadness soon follow.

For her's was a life of love,

and close ties to so many,

and commitment to being a true friend to all,

and of bubbling joy.

In her last years,

Constance sought to perfect herself,

to reach higher planes of awareness,

to understand nature,

and its mysteries revealed.

Her thirst for knowledge and understanding,

her tenderhearted love of our avian brothers and sisters,

her heart, her heart, her glorious heart,

all in plain sight, for all to see.

And what remains is her spirit.

Our remembrances of moments with her.

Her contagious tinkling laugh,

head thrown back in delight.

Our glad times and celebrations,

Our union in family, and work, and friendship.

Constance, We shall always remember,

and love, and honour you.

If there is a heaven, you are surely there,

and if it is that you must live another life,

then may it be in love's embrace,

and if it is neither,

then may you have found your well deserved rest.

John

While we who love you live, you are alive.

You remain in our fibre, our innermost being.

You sustain us in knowing what it means to be fully joyously human.

For you, who chose me, I will always be in your debt,

And for every moment spent with you,

I thank you, my dear Constance

On the day before Constance passed, a Tui alighted on our fenced bedroom deck. The young bird hopped down, pecked a bug, and then hopped up on a vase next to our window 1.5 metres away from us. We gazed at him, he gazed at us, and then, he emitted a beautiful trill while looking Constance directly in the eye, and then flew away…

A week before, a Plumeria Constance planted six years ago, that had never bloomed, burst into full flower and fragrance...

Two weeks before, a volunteer ginger that had popped up earlier this spring, bloomed in her garden, for the first time…

John