Never one to seek the limelight for his voluntary work, Graeme Smith reported being a ‘‘wee bit blown away’’ to receive a Queen’s Service Medal for services to the community and theatre in 2018.
A dedicated family man, father to four and happily married to wife Rosalyn (nee Rose) for more than 50 years, Graeme loved being involved with his lifelong West Otago community of Tapanui.
Educated at Tapanui Primary and Tapanui District High schools, Graeme formalised his considerable woodworking skills by qualifying — complete with Master Builders silver medal — second in the country as a joiner and carpenter, and top all-rounder at Otago Polytechnic in 1969. He would later go on to become president of the New Zealand Joinery Manufacturers Association during a long and successful career.
His creative talents continued to serve him throughout his life, not only professionally as a builder and joiner, but in his decades of varied voluntary contributions to his community.
His built legacy to Tapanui and surrounds included contributing to the building and development of the Tapanui covered swimming pool, and designing and installing joinery items for the West Otago Community Centre kitchen and theatre.
Graeme was part of the leadership group that formed the West Otago Theatrical Society in 1982, experiencing a lifelong joy in the stage encompassing everything from set building, to stage management and direction, to starring roles, during a 50-year association with the arts in West Otago.
He was a life member of the West Otago Theatrical Society and, in 2006, received a NZ Musical Theatre Award for outstanding service.
Graeme’s tireless and dedicated volunteering marked him out as a man to be relied on to get a job done to the highest standard — delivered with smiling good humour and zero fuss.
He believed volunteering was a reward in and of itself, the sharing of skills and time for one’s community repaying itself a hundredfold.
It was this attitude that gained him his richly-deserved Queen’s Service Medal in 2018 — a moment of considerable pride for Graeme, family and the wider West Otago community.
Graeme served the Tapanui Presbyterian Church, later the Church on the Way, in numerous roles for more than 50 years, including amalgamating church and hall, teaching Sunday School, and extensive fundraising through initiatives like the firewood service, providing affordable firewood for local families in need. In 2013, he received an individual Trustpower community service award for his efforts.
In later life, having retired from professional joinery, he established the West Otago Bloke’s Shed.
This provided a new lease of life for his considerable store of joinery equipment, and allowed Graeme to share his skills with others, and the shed members to provide signage and many other items to the community.
Diagnosed with leukaemia in 2006, Graeme did not let the disease slow him down unduly, and he remained energetic and buoyant until the end, supported by his beloved Rosalyn, children and friends.
Born in Tapanui Cottage Hospital on November 11, 1948 to John (Jack) and Eva Smith (nee Coatsworth), Graeme John Smith died peacefully at Dunedin Hospital, on October 19, 2023, aged 74.
He is survived by wife Rosalyn, and children Phillip, Catherine, Alistair and Olivia.
