Late husband of CEO Tracey Wright-Tawha
It was while sitting across the tea cups on a winters Sunday afternoon, where Roy said to his wife, Tracey – you should go for it you know. You’ve talked enough about the idea of a one stop health and wellbeing hub, give it a crack, I’ll help. Roy became a champion for the moemoea dreams of the Trust.
Roy had a wealth of lived experience in which to draw from, influencing the type and range of services that should be easily accessible to Māori and others in the service he named Ngā Kete Mātauranga Pounamu – a metaphor for baskets of knowledge, with pounamu tying us back to our mandating whakapapa, Ōraka-Aparima Rūnaka.
A complex man with principled standards and a colourful lived and learnt past, meant he walked in a range of environments with a measure of confidence and ease. He loved to support Marae, tangihanga, people in need and on a number of occasions, the family freezer would be empty as he had seen someone, who he used to say, “needed it more”. A bit over the top when coming home from work one day, the family couch had disappeared….that whānau down the road ‘needed it more’ he would say, and that was the end of that.
A love for whānau, gathering kutai, cook ups in the back yard and thrilling the kids at ball time by getting out his suits and ties, manly jewellery and watches, telling them to shower, shine their shoes and part their hair, he knew how to have fun but was an incredibly hard worker and loved kitchen marae life – his speciality was crunching up potato chips on top of the mash – added texture, he said.
In the early days there were many staff Christmases that he insisted focused on the tamariki and he’d arrive in a full Santa suit with individually wrapped gifts. He loved to see joy and happiness on the faces of whānau because over the years he had seen so much need and sadness as a mission worker in Otautahi and in the addiction field.
Bubba Roy set some early quality standards for Ngā Kete and he would personally clean the fleet cars. Staff were gob smacked when he would bring out his tools, which included tooth brushes to get into those wee tricky spots. Our cars shone. He also insisted all manuhiri were given a cup of tea on arrival and that we had kai in case of an emergency. He would be laughing at us now, if he was here, as we can have up to 350 people coming into the service per day – that’s a lot of tea! But in his memory we have installed water stations in waiting areas and still ensure that Kaumātua are offered a cuppa, a smile and a seat.
Roy would take his inspiration and whaikōrero from the Paipera Tapu, Māori bible. He would reverently say that you can learn te reo Māori by reading it, as one page is in Māori and one in English. He had a style that worked for the uninitiated, in that he would translate between Māori and English as he spoke, as he believed that everyone in the room should understand the message.
Roy made a real impression in those early genesis years of the Trust’s history, he drove our vans, picked up whanau for appointments and was a stickler for time. We all got used to the horn pumping under his palm to say ‘it’s time to go’. I’d say, you are being rude, he would say “I’m being clear”. Aue!
When challenges were taxing he would say, I’m giving you fellas two minutes to get over it, there is work to be done. He made us laugh. Annoying at times, he was normally right on the button with his thoughts. His greatest gift was his enduring belief that we could cut a track forward for the health and wellbeing of whanau. He was innately proud of our efforts and so too, were we, of his.
Moe mai ra e te Rangatira Bubba Roy. Gone too soon and you are missed.
Tracey Wright-Tawha,
Tumu Whakarae – CEO
