Steffi August with her billboard tribute for her late husband Fred's 60th birthday. Photo / George Novak
Steffi August with her billboard tribute for her late husband Fred's 60th birthday. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga's Fred August had been planning his big 60th birthday party more than a year before the big day.
He had booked a band, selected his local golf club as the venue for his shindig and purchased a top-shelf bottle of whiskey.
However, the Mount Maunganui man died in atruck crash near Tokoroa on the afternoon of April 11 last year, aged 58. His 60th birthday would have been next Tuesday, on August 4.
To mark what would have been a milestone birthday, his widow Steffi August has purchased a slot on a Hewletts Rd digital billboard for the whole of next week so the city and people whose lives he touched can "have a drink and celebrate with our special man".
Steffi says she just wants people to raise a glass in Fred's memory. Photo / George Novak
Fred had operated furniture moving company UPak Removals in Tauranga for 16 years and left behind his loving wife, four children and seven grandchildren.
"He always loved my surprises, if he was here and saw the billboard his eyes would go so wide, he would probably cry then grab me and pull me into his arms," Steffi said.
"He'd always be saying 'What is she up to this time?'"
Steffi said she wanted to mark the occasion with something big and exciting for the big day and had been racking her brain for a long time to think what would be right.
Initially she had wanted a plane with a banner to lap the city but that was too costly. Her next idea was putting posters up around the town.
"Then I was walking up Mauao like I do every day and it just came to me."
She managed to secure a spot that would show a special tribute to him for the big day every 30 seconds next week.
Steffi did not want to disclose the cost of the billboard but said the providers had given her a discounted rate as they thought her purpose was "so special".
She just wanted people to raise a glass in Fred's memory.
Fred August. Photo / Supplied
"He loved his whiskey and his Steinlagers ... what a good excuse to drink on a Tuesday," she said with a laugh.
"He shifted half of Tauranga's furniture and he made people feel good with his patience and friendly nature.
Steffi said she still had her sad moments but had accepted her loss.
She told him before he died that if anything ever happened to him, she would never fall in love again.
"It was a one-in-a-million love. I miss his hugs, his big arms and his brown eyes that were always so full of joy."
Steffi now spent her days as a speaker and trainer, she volunteered for the Corrections Department and ran a YouTube channel and Facebook page called Time to Talk.
Steffi August a week on from her husband Fred's death last year. Photo / File
On the page, she put together videos with others who had been through grief or mental health struggles to get "much-needed" conversations into the public sphere.
"I want to inspire others to talk."
She said if there was one thing she could tell people it would be to "celebrate your relationships" and to "make it work".
"This is your life and I know better than anyone that it can change in an instant."
