Help us bring Troy home

Kia ora whanau and friends.

I just wanted to touch base with you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your aroha after the passing of our Troy Boy. Lee (Troy’s mum) and I can never thank you enough for being there for us and helping us get Troy back home from Perth, Australia after his passing.

It took eleven days to finally have Troy returned to his home where we were able to spend some special time with him before laying him to rest. He is buried at Kauae Cemetery here in Ngongotaha which backs onto maunga (mount) Ngongotaha and looks out over lake Rotorua and Mokoia Island and is obviously now a place we visit often. Knowing Troy, this is probably a little too peaceful and serene for his liking but know that his friends visit often with a beer in one hand and a speaker blaring in the other and am sure this is something he appreciates.

Lee and I are doing as well as can be expected with each day having its challenges in dealing with our loss -everywhere we look at home and around Rotorua there are memories of Troy that both hurt and make us smile. I believe the hurt will always be there and just something we must learn to live with -I guess we do not have much say in that!

On a more positive note on the 15th of December our daughter Kess gave birth to her first child, a handsome young man they have named ‘Kalyn Troy Wilson Ryder’ in memory of and to honour her brother. Mum and baby are doing well, and all are at home with us at present until their return to Australia later in February some time.

With Kess’s help we have put together one last small slide show of a young Troy Boy as we have unearthed a number of photos not yet shared -hopefully this work’s and you can see the happy, cheeky kid we all knew and were fortunate to have in our lives.

Our families love to you all