Lindsay and Fay Drinkwater were at their happiest when they were together, helping others. Photo / supplied
There would be very few people in Stratford who didn't know Fay and Lindsay Drinkwater.
The couple, who died in a car crash on State Highway 3 near Tariki on Friday, September 9, were well known for their faith, willingness to help others, and most of all, their love for each other.
Fay, 88, and Lindsay, 93, had lived in their Stratford home since they moved to the district in the early 1990s. Over the years, Lindsay became a familiar face as one of the town's Santas in the Christmas grotto on the high street, as well as being a keen member of the town's pipe band. Fay was equally well-known for her quiet and unwavering support of everything Lindsay got involved with, and she was the one who always made sure Lindsay was where he was meant to be as he juggled his many commitments over the years.
The couple met through the Salvation Army, of which they were both members, in the early 1950s. Lindsay, who had been a jockey in Palmerston North before an accident with a horse ended his career, had joined the Salvation Army at the urging of his brother who was already a member. Lindsay moved to Wellington as a Salvation Army officer and worked for the corp in a home for alcoholics.
Fay (Te Atiawa) also moved to Wellington, from her family home in New Plymouth, as a Salvation Army cadet, having been brought up in the corps with both her parents active members.
While the Salvation Army didn't encourage romances between young cadets and officers, the couple fell in love, marrying at the New Plymouth Salvation Army Citadel in 1956.
Fay was 22 and Lindsay was 27. They settled in Opotiki where Lindsay worked as the town's corps officer, and 18 months later the first of their three children, Cheryl, was born.
When Cheryl was still a babe in arms, Lindsay felt called to serve in Papua New Guinea as a missionary. As always, Fay supported him and the couple began looking into missionary work in the southwestern Pacific country. This journey led the couple to work with South Seas Evangelical Mission (S.S.E.M) as at that stage the Salvation Army had no mission in Papua New Guinea, and through that they were able to find a way to begin what transpired to be two decades of living and working there.
The couple settled into their new life with relative ease, thanks greatly to their ability to make friends, connections and a sense of family and love wherever they were. Lindsay was skilled at languages, and learned a variety of dialects during his time in the Pacific nation, playing a major role in a successful project to translate the Bible into Tok Pisin (Melanesian Pidgin) while he was there.
While they were in Papua New Guinea, Fay and Linsday had two more children, Philip, who was born in 1960, and Judy, who was born in 1964. Judy died in May at the age of 57. After more than 20 years of living in Papua New Guinea, the family returned to Aotearoa New Zealand, settling in a home on Govett Ave in New Plymouth. The family home was always full, with whanau, friends and anyone in need welcome at any time. The couple continued their ministry journey, moving to Titahi Bay where Lindsay served as minister of a couple of churches, before returning to Taranaki to settle in Stratford in the early 90s.
In Stratford, the couple continued to give their time and service to anyone and everyone who needed it, always willing to lend a hand. While their own faith journey had started with the Salvation Army and moved to the Presbyterian church, they were always happy to work across denominations, seeing unity not difference in the various faith traditions around them.
Lindsay received a Stratford District Council citizen's award in 1999 for service to the community, and was a life member of the Stratford Scottish Society as well as spending many years as a member of the Stratford District Pipe Band.
They were at their happiest when they were helping others in any way they could, and were well known as being a truly inseparable couple who complemented each other, making two parts of one whole in everything they did.
Fay and Lindsay also had seven grandchildren - Rosalea, John, Rachel, Peter, Debra, Michael and Tikvah, and 12 great-grandchildren - Xander, Alyssa, Eliot, Tait, Greta, Emily, Alex, Ryan, Paige, Axel, Finn and Violet.