Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson (left) and children's ward nurse manager Trish Silk with June and Alan Lints.
Photo/Bevan Conley
Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson (left) and children's ward nurse manager Trish Silk with June and Alan Lints.
Photo/Bevan Conley
The late Alan Lints was a loving father, grandfather and former teacher who spent 14 weeks in Whanganui Hospital after he became ill last year.
Alan died on February 19 and one of his last requests to his wife June and son Alan junior was that they donate money tothe hospital to purchase art for the children's ward.
They made one donation of $4000 while Alan was still a patient at the hospital and this week they made a further gift of donations collected at his funeral.
"We asked people to make donations instead of buying flowers," said June.
"It may sound strange but Alan's funeral was a wonderful occasion with a lot of good stories and a lot of laughs."
Last year, Alan and June were one of six couples living at Somerset Village in Whanganui to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversaries.
The Lints had three children - Alan, Gillian and Duncan - and there are seven grandchildren.
Alan taught at a number of Whanganui schools and was a long-serving and much-respected principal at Rutherford Intermediate (now Rutherford Junior High).
"He loved children and really enjoyed teaching so making this gift was very important to him," June said.
Son Alan and his wife Jackie also took up a collection at the preschool centre they own in Whakatane.
"We are so happy to support the hospital in this way because the care that dad received here could not have been better.
"Not only were the staff very good to him, but they also took wonderful care of mum and all of us really."
Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson said there is plenty of "white space" in the ward that can be filled with vibrant art.
June said she wanted to extend her appreciation to all the people who donated to the fund.
"I don't know who they all are because they put their donations in the collection box but they have been very generous."
The Lints family have made no stipulations about the type of art the hospital purchases but say they would like it to be interactive so children can enjoy being able to touch it.
