Members of the Bay of Plenty community are remembering and celebrating the life of prominent community member Allison Stewart.

Allison passed away on August 1.

The community response comes as no surprise to people who are familiar with Allison, as she had an outstanding level of involvement with many aspects of the Tauranga community.

'Her whole philosophy was that we are all connected, and that means that participating actively in the community helps to build a strong and well community, and she really lived that every day,” says Helen Alice.

Helen says she got to know Allison through the Tauranga Hot Pink Walk, which aims to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

Allison was born in Palmerston North on December 3, 1957, to parents Ann and Selwyn Pope. She spent her primary school years in Hamilton, and then in 1967 her family moved to an orchard in Te Puna, from where she attended both Ōtūmoetai Intermediate and Ōtūmoetai College.

It was here that Allison picked up hockey and excelled as a goalie. She continued to play hockey for many years and represented Tauranga during this time.

'Allison was a very good goalkeeper for Ōtūmoetai. I've known her since I came to Tauranga in 1980,” says Sarah Garnett.

Sarah says she first met Allison ‘before she was married, before she had her children,' when she played against her in hockey.

Sarah would go on to work with Allison at her first job at Delgety's in the 1980s, and at EVES real estate in more recent times.

'Surf life saving, hockey, breast cancer awareness, you name it, Allison was there. She was a friend to many and will be a hard person to replace,” says Sarah.

'Her sons Gareth and Paul were both involved with hockey too, and she was right behind the college and their invovlement with golf and hockey.

Tauranga Hockey Association general manager Clinton Butler says Allison was the secretary of the association from 1988 to 1990.

Nigel Gregory with Allison Stewart. Photo: Tauranga Hockey Association.

'I've known her since I started at the hockey association at the end of 2016. She has had an involvement with THA for a long time,” says Clinton.

'She was always willing to give her time and was always very positive. I looked to her for advice here and there. We had four international teams here in 2018 with the men's Four Nations. She assisted us greatly then, and was helping our VIPs feel comfortable for our VIP day too.”

'Allison used to write poems for the teams before they played. They were all really well received by the players.

'She's a huge loss and from our perspective and everyone who knew her in the community it is sad, she's going to leave a hole not just in hockey but everything she was involved in.”

Heather Jones, who helped organise the Hot Pink Walk in Tauranga, says she goes back '30 odd years” with Allison.

'She's going to be sorely missed in this city that's for sure,” says Heather.

'With so many things I was involved with, Allison had this wonderful ability to come in, sort out the problems, find someone who is equally as passionate to delegate to, and then take a step back. She did that with so many things without any recognition. That was just how she operated.”

Heather says she remembers the laughter the pair would have when organising the Hot Pink Walk about 10 years ago.

'We got on like a house on fire. It was back in the day when the pink walk was set up in the Red Square. There was people everywhere and we were setting up trestle tables. It was 5pm when businesses were closed, and Allison had set up a trestle table outside of a business that will remain nameless.

'The owner came outside and threw one of the tables we had set up without saying a word. There is no way you could replicate the look on Allison's face when he did that, I will never forget how she stared at him. We would laugh about this looking back even 10 years on.”

Andrew Love says he has known Allison for ‘40 years', and worked with Allison at The Radio Network.

'I first dealt with Allison when she managed the Ōtūmoetai Hotel. She was also involved with Bay of Plenty rugby when I was a commentator, and we both were involved at the launch of the Garden and Art Fest, and at the Racing Club when I moved there.

'What I love about Allison is that she was very bubbly, outgoing, wanted to please everyone and worked very hard to do it.

'My memory of her is that she genuinely wanted to help people and give them a good time. It was the way she operated, whether it was at EVES, Bayleys, the promotions director to bring the clients to the races, looking after clients at when she was in radio, or running the Ōtūmoetai Hotel to make it a great place for people to come to.

'She was a fun person to work with. A lot of the things she did were voluntary. She was one of those people that was always on the go. She was always enthusiastic about finding a good way of doing things and looking after people. I reckon she always put other people before herself too.

'My best memory of Allison is that she always had a cheeky grin, smiled and was always happy.”

Maree Brookes says Allison was an amazing stalwart for Tauranga, and she will be sorely missed by so many people.

'I think Tauranga will be a far poorer place for the loss of Allison,” says Maree.

Kerri Price, who was involved with Allison in various events and sponsorships, says she was 'the most amazing woman.”

'She was the most vibrant, caring and genuine woman. Tauranga has definitely lost a local hero,” says Kerri.

'She was such a great mentor for anyone getting into the space. She was so generous and knowledgeable and always sharing her knowledge and wisdom in the community.”

Anne Pankhurst, who says she and Allison "have been involved in similar fields for years" says that Allison was 'an exceptionally special person".

'She was incredibly involved, active and always giving back to the community,” says Anne.

'I was very sad to hear the loss of somebody who contributed so much to the community and to the region. She was so involved with the community and always giving back.

'She was exceptionally funny and always seeing the funny side of life. I remember seeing her running around the rugby field at Bay Venues when she used to support the Steamers. She was like the little energizer bunny running around the field sorting everything.

'When you sat in the stand you'd see her waving her arms and fixing everything up!”

Helen Alice adds that Allison would always do her voluntary work "without making any fuss".

'She didn't want a lot of attention. She didn't want her business logo there, and did it without any fanfare. Just that quiet capacity building in the community. She was very organised with what she did, and always brought her sense of humour to it,” says Helen.

Sarah Garnett says that her two boys, Paul and Gareth, were "her absolute life".

'She had the most infectious smile and laugh. She was always the mother on the sideline shouting and cheering for her boys.”

The EVES Surfbreaker Triathlon team say that Allison has been a "pivotal member of the Tauranga community", in a Facebook post.

Allison Stewart (right), at the EVES Surfbreaker Triathlon. Photo: EVES Surfbreaker Triathlon.

'Allison has been a pivotal member of the Tauranga community, a huge supporter of Triathlon Tauranga and local triathlon events. As the Sponsorship & Events Manager for EVES, Allison supported the EVES Surfbreaker Triathlon for more than 15 years as the gold sponsor of the event.

'Allison would regularly turn up on event day, hand out medals to athletes, say a few words (if we could encourage her to), but mostly relish the atmosphere and enjoyment that the event brought to so many people.

'As we have got to know Allison over the years, we were always eager to help her out with any of her other events, including the Hot Pink Walk for Breast Cancer where you could find a sea of ladies in pink walking their way through the CBD for charity.”

'Our deepest sympathies go out to your son's Gareth and Paul, family, and friends, and all the many people you have touched with your zest for life, warm and welcoming personality. You will be deeply missed by so many. The EVES Surfbreaker won't be the same without you.”

A celebration of Allison's life will be held at the Addison Theatre, Baycourt, Tauranga at 1pm on Tuesday August 9. A livestream for the event is available at www.baycourt.co.nz.