Family of Kiwi dad who died in Melbourne want to bring him home by Christmas

Jonathan Korenhof with his children Asher, 5 (left) and Eden, 4, died in his sleep from complications with diabetes. Photo / Supplied

The family of a young Kiwi dad who died suddenly in his sleep are trying to get his body home to Whakatane so they can bury him by Christmas.

Jonathan Korenhof was living in Melbourne when he died some time before Wednesday last week.

His blood sugar had dipped dangerously low while he was sleeping, a result of the type 1 diabetes he'd been living with since he was a child.

He had been living alone and with no one to help him he died, his body was found several days later.

Just 29, he leaves behind two young children: Asher, 5 and Eden, 4.

They were born in Melbourne after Jonathan and his former partner Selina Korenhof moved to Australia in 2012.

She and his family are trying to bring his body home for burial - but flying everyone back to New Zealand so close to Christmas was too big a cost to shoulder alone.

"It's so expensive - more than what I assumed," Korenhof told the Herald.

Jonathan's family is fundraising to cover the costs of bringing his body and his family back home to Whakatane.

They hope to bury him on Christmas Eve, if not earlier.

His mother and a sister were in Melbourne preparing his body, but his dad was "just waiting for his boy to come home", Korenhof said.

"His dad is probably taking it the hardest because he's not here."

Her father started a Go Fund me page, which has attracted nearly $3000 in donations - $1000 short of their goal.

"I loved him like he was my own son," he wrote in an emotional plea for help bringing Jonathan home.

Korenhof (seen here with son Asher when he was a baby) was fit and active, but could be lax about managing his diabetes, his former partner said. Photo / Supplied

A flight has been booked to bring his body back, and his family hoped to join but weren't yet able to afford tickets.

Korenhof remembered her husband, who she separated from a year ago, as a fun-loving and super-active person who was dearly loved by his friends and family.

"He was such a sweetheart; he had such a sweet heart," she said.

"We had our separation, but he was always there for the kids. And I'm so glad."

Asher was taking his dad's death hardest out of their two children, Korenhof said.

"They saw dad was sleeping and he wasn't going to wake up again.

"My son was really close with him and he needed his dad around to do dad things," she said, crying.

Jonathan's body was found on Wednesday last week, but because he had been living alone it was unclear when he died.

Korenhof said it was a reminder for diabetics to make sure they tracked their blood sugar levels and ate enough before bed.

While Jonathan was active and fit, he could sometimes be too casual about taking care of himself, she said.

She didn't want anyone else to die from preventable complications from diabetes, saying anyone living with the illness should remember to look after their health.

Back in Whakatane, friends and whanau were packing out Jonathan's family home, waiting for his arrival.

Going home for Christmas would be bittersweet, she said.

"We'll be back there to celebrate Christmas and New Years with our family, but under these circumstances."

To donate to help Jonathan Korenhof's family come home to bury him, click here.