Best friends reunited after 65 years apart, Laurel Johnstone (left) and Maureen Wallace.
Photo / Supplied
Best friends reunited after 65 years apart, Laurel Johnstone (left) and Maureen Wallace.
Photo / Supplied
She calls herself the 'found' bridesmaid.
Taupō woman Laurel Johnstone, 86, was found by a genealogist who wanted to surprise her neighbours with a 65th wedding anniversary present.
Separated since 1954 - Laurel Johnstone was finally reunited with Maureen Wallace and her husband Rhodes Wallace last month.
Laurel and Maureenwere trainee nurses at Thames Hospital and not long after, Laurel was one of three bridesmaids at Maureen's wedding. Maureen moved away after her wedding and the pair lost touch.
In 1961 Laurel married returned serviceman John Johnstone and became busy with family life and running a farm.
The Johnstones were among the first farming families on Oruanui Rd, with the government extending them a loan for their ballot farm that had to be repaid in 33 years.
To make a little more money, John became a shearing contractor and Laurel was the cook.
"We got the first 500 bales [of wool] off Lochinvar [Station], and the first 1000 bales in 1974. Sometimes there were 33 in the [shearing] gang."
After farming for many years they retired to Pukehina Beach, but John became bored so they moved to a lifestyle block in Pongakawa for a few years before retiring to town in Whakatane. John died seven years ago and Laurel returned to live in Taupō town to be close to her daughter, and to be near her son and his family who live on the farm in Oruanui Rd.
Best friends Laurel Johnstone (left) and Maureen Wallace before going to a dance in Thames in the 1950s.
Photo / Supplied
Laurel says her son took a call from retired genealogist and family historian Dianne Mitchell, but was cautious about admitting to Dianne that she was on the right track.
"My son rang me and asked, 'Were you ever a bridesmaid?"
Dianne's plan was to have Laurel attend the wedding anniversary, coinciding with Waitangi Day, and it was to be a complete surprise. However, Maureen was still recovering from a hip operation and instead of travelling to Katikati Laurel rang Maureen on her anniversary.
"All the family and friends were assembled, they all knew about the surprise and were under orders to not answer the phone so that Maureen would have to. She got such a shock they had to prop her up in her walker. She hates it when that happens!"
The friends finally caught up a month ago and had lunch together at the golf club, next to the Katikati retirement village where Maureen and Rhodes live.
"Her [Maureen's] opening words were, 'Darling! At last!', with open arms."
"I wanted to know how she found me and she said that she located me through my son."
An initial breakthrough came when Dianne found Laurel's family tree on the NZ Society of Genealogist's website and discovered the names of Laurel's husband and children. Next a search of the electoral roll for the years 1853 to 1981 found on ancestry.com.au revealed that in 1981 Laurel and John were living in Oruanui Rd.
"She went to the library and looked at the current electoral roll and found our son's name in the same district where we lived in 1981, and wondered 'is this the son?'"
Dianne says that it's always satisfying when you can reconnect lost people with each other.
