The couple who died in a recent crash on a busy east Auckland road are being remembered as kind-hearted people who always had time for others.
David and Jill McArthur, who were in their 80s, died following a collision between the vehicle they were in and another car at about 2.42pm on May 31 in Botany.
One of their beloved pet dogs, Misty Rose, was killed in the crash on Botany Road also.
A second dog in their vehicle was taken to a local veterinary clinic.
The couple’s death notice in the NZ Herald newspaper describes them as dearly loved parents, devoted grandparents, and “amazing artists, gardeners and respected members of their Botany community”.
They’d been married for 54 years. A police investigation into the crash is ongoing.
The popular couple were well known in east Auckland.
Both had studied under accomplished local art tutor Tony Clarke, of TC Fine Art in Pakuranga.
“Jill did something like 15 years with me,” Clarke told the Times.
“I think she just walked in one day, looked around the class and said ‘I’d like to do this’, and that was it.
“David came for maybe three or four terms. He was an oil painter.
“He took on some of the techniques, modified them into the oils, and did his own thing, but Jill stayed on.”
Clarke says David’s paintings were very luminous and had a lovely quality, while Jill enjoyed painting subjects such as animals and birds.
“She had a big love of those things but they could both paint anything,” he says.
“They were both very skilful. Both she and David won a lot of prizes.”
Clarke remembers Jill for being gracious toward newcomers in his classes.
“If I had a new student she would be the first to welcome them and talk to them.
“And if we had a cup of tea she’d be the first one getting to know them and showing them what she’s done.
“Jill would always reassure the person.
“She’d say, ‘Come along, you’ll enjoy it, we have a great crowd.
“She was really nice in that way, really open-hearted and warm. They were just lovely people, both of them.”
Clarke says David loved to laugh and would joke with the art students when he arrived to pick Jill up from class.
The couple’s beloved dogs were one of her favourite topics of conversation.
“She talked about their dogs all the time,” Clarke says.
“Jill loved her dogs. She belonged to the dog-walking club and the beagle club when they had beagles.
“She showed me her new dog and she would bring him in.
“There were four beagles at the funeral and they brought them into the church.
“Jill would have loved that and thought it was so cool.”
He says her presence will be missed at his art classes.
“She was a steadying influence, just quiet and thoughtful.
“The sort of person who sits quietly but is open to everybody and not closed off.
“We had a class the week after it [the crash] happened. It was markedly quiet.
“Everybody got on with their work and there was sort of a presence there. It was really nice.
“Jill was the sort of person who would just get on with her work.
“She wouldn’t talk while she was working, but when she had a cup of tea she would talk with everybody.”
