One of Barbara Tane’s final public appearances came last month at the unveiling of Progress to Health’s John McIntosh Pavillion, named for a man who was her colleague at Life Unlimited for many years. From left, Progress to Health chair Mark Brown and chief executive Karen Covell, Barbara, Marilyn McIntosh and Kia Roha services manager April Johnson.
Barbara Tane’s father, who worked until he was 82, used to say, “… don’t expect something for nothing, you’ve got to earn your bread and butter…”
Words Barbara later stated had a profound impact on shaping her own life-long work ethic.
Still working at 76 – the driving force behind everything she did was love and care for others.
Affectionately known as “Aunty Barb”, the beloved Te Awamutu and Kihikihi stalwart died while visiting family in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, June 4.
Family and friends gathered to honour her life at Te Kuiti’s Te Tokanganui a Noho wharenui last week.
A mother of two, grandmother of six, and great-grandmother of four, Barbara was a woman passionate about her work and her community.
She especially loved her family.
Affiliating to Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Ngutu through her mother, Barbara grew up understanding Te Reo Māori.
Her father was Pākehā, her mother a fluent Te Reo speaker – and it also became Barbara’s passion.
A treasured member of Te Awamutu Māori Women’s Welfare League, Barbara was a senior occupational therapist aid at Tokanui Hospital for 26 years before it closed, then worked for the Richmond Fellowship, a mental health organisation, before joining Life Unlimited Charitable Trust, now Your Way | Kia Roha, in Hamilton 23 years ago.
Sometimes, she’d visit clients in the evening, providing advice, support, and information about available services.
She was involved in setting up Ngā Mara Ātea, Seeds That Grow, a marae-based cultural day programme at Kirikiriroa Marae.
More recently, Barbara was responsible for delivering Māori disability information advisory services funded by Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People. She also carried out Māori needs assessments for Disability Support Link.
Under the Kia Roha umbrella sits the Journey Together, Imagine Better, Altogether Autism, and Mobility Centre services, and staff from there, as well as Ngā Mara Ātea clients, were among those present in Te Kuiti to honour Barbara’s life.
In his tribute to her, Barbara’s grandson Jayden Tane spoke of how much she meant to the family.
“She’d drop anything, anytime, for us kids.
Barbara Tane with her great granddaughter, Mila.
“Nanna taught us many lessons – most importantly to work hard, be kind and be proud of who we are. Her values have influenced many of us.”
“Nanna Barb”, as she was known to all his friends, certainly walked that talk he said.
Jayden said one of the greatest taonga – or treasures – Barbara left for them to aspire to is a love of generosity.
“Nanna was so giving – and generosity was something she got so much joy out of.
“Yet, she never expected anything in return.
“One of the strongest women I know, she was kind and beautiful. For such a small lady, she didn’t care who you were – if you deserved a telling off, you got it.”
A final whakatauki he shared perfectly summed up how Barbara lived life, he said.
“Nau te rourou nāku te rourou ka ora te manuhiri.”
“What is yours is mine, if you share, the visitors will be looked after – everybody contributes.”
Your Way | Kia Roha chief executive Megan Thomas said Barb loved to sing, was always a strong lead in waiata and was the kaikaranga – caller – of many people onto the marae, or to Kia Roha.
“Barb was central to the Hamilton office for so many years. She was always so welcoming, never sat still and was always out and about in the community. The team will feel a real gap without her.”
Former Life Unlimited communications manager Mary Anne Gill said Barbara was inspiring.
“She was so passionate about the work she did in the disability community. Any time anyone mentioned retirement, she’d dismiss those suggestions.
“I used to call her a pocket battleship because she was so feisty when she was advocating for someone. There will never be anyone else like Barb.”
In a Life Unlimited profile on her, Barbara said her work gave her an unwavering passion.
Among her final words in the piece were, “I love what I do, and I love supporting people… that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
The lives of the many people Barbara impacted through that work – and who she reached with her infectious love of life – are richer for that passion.
Barb Tane featured in a North and South magazine article on how not to retire. Read what was said about her then.
