KEY POINTS:
Gerry and Sheila Hadlow's family may never know why the couple were travelling the stretch of State Highway 5 that claimed their lives.
Their son, Rotorua graphic artist Tony Hadlow, and his sister Melanie Budd, of Morrinsville, do not believe their parents had intended to go far as
they had their dog Benji with them.
The couple and their dog died in a head-on collision with a bus carrying 20 Korean tourists on Wednesday.
The crash happened on a rise about 1km north of the Agrodome turnoff about 4.45pm. They died instantly.
Gerry Hadlow was a well-known Bay of Plenty figure, a popular Anglican minister and police chaplain.
Tony Hadlow learned of the tragedy when Rotorua police phoned him as he was driving on the Southern Motorway heading out of Auckland.
He broke the news to his sister before driving to her Morrinsville home. He then returned to Rotorua - a trip that forced him to drive past the crash scene.
Since the crash, he and his sister, their spouses and the four children they have between them have been surrounded by friends as they have tried to come to grips with the sudden loss of "two very special people".
Mr Hadlow said although his father had given up his work at the helm of St Luke's Anglican Church in Rotorua a number of years ago he had never officially retired.
He had been the police chaplain for about 20 years and still regularly conducted services, weddings and funerals.
"Mum and Dad were a true team," Mr Hadlow said. "They did such solid team work. They were such a unit. They were inseparable."
Police are not yet publicly releasing details of how the crash happened.
Sergeant Brett Cooper, of the Rotorua police strategic traffic unit, said the bus was heading north, and the Hadlows were heading towards Rotorua.
News of the Hadlows' deaths has shocked St Luke's clergy and parishioners. The present vicar, the Rev Jenny Chalmers, said the parish "has lost in Gerry and Sheila people of huge Christian faith. They were an example to us of what it was to serve in the community.
"It's one of those times when you become aware of the huge loss and how life beyond that loss will not be the same again."
Ms Chalmers described Canon Hadlow as a fantastic communicator.
"He was a great letter writer and emailer. If you needed any help both he and Sheila were always there. We have lost a kaumatua of huge standing."
The Hadlows' funeral will be held in the Rotorua Convention Centre tomorrow at 1pm.
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)