Tiggers to farewell drowned Kiwi kayaker

Simon Davidson in a photograph by his best mate Matt Burton in Canada. Photo / Supplied

Family and friends of kayaker Simon Davidson are being asked to bring Tigger stuffed toys to his funeral service in the Waikato town of Cambridge tomorrow.

Mr Davidson, 20, drowned when his kayak overturned in Red Creek Alberta's Rocky Mountains last week.

He had been in Canada for six weeks, working as a rafting instructor.

As a child he loved Tigger, a character in the Winnie the Pooh stories.

"Tigger was always Simon's favourite toy (and still is) so a Tiny Tigger to leave with him would be appreciated," Mr Davidson's family said in a death notice in today's New Zealand Herald newspaper.

The family said in "his 20 beautiful years he filled our life with great joy, fun, music and laughter and died following his passion for kayaking".

A funeral service at St Peter's School Chapel will be followed by a private cremation.

- NZPA