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Ricky Gregory
A young Cromwell man who drowned in Lake Te Anau while
celebrating a friend's birthday at the weekend, was described
by family and friends yesterday as a daredevil who lived life
to the fullest.
Police divers recovered the body of Ricky Joseph Gregory (22)
from the lake on Saturday afternoon.
Mr Gregory was reported missing after a dinghy overturned on
the lake at 3.30am on Saturday.
He and two friends had rowed in the dinghy to a float plane
moored near the jetty area.
The dinghy sank on the return journey.
Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail, of Invercargill, said the
incident was "an alcohol-related act that has ended in
tragedy".
Mr Gregory's parents, Suzy and Ted, were being comforted by
family and friends at their Cromwell home yesterday and told
the Otago Daily Times Ricky and his friends were "good kids".
"What happened was just kids up to high jinks; out having
fun," Mrs Gregory said.
"They did something silly and this is the consequence."
A group of 10 young people from Cromwell travelled to Te Anau
on Friday to celebrate the 23rd birthday of one of the group,
Torey Burns.
"Ricky phoned me that night at 7.30 on the way and said there
was 10 in the van and they were having such a nice time," Mrs
Gregory said.
"They'd all phoned their mums so he thought he would, too. He
was laughing because Torey had organised birthday party loot
bags for all of them, with chippies and Crunchie bars, and he
reckoned he hadn't had a party loot bag in about 10 years."
Mr Gregory had a wide circle of friends and enjoyed nothing
more than spending time with his friends.
"He always had a smile on his face and everyone he spoke to
became his friend," his father said.
"No matter which town you were in, Ricky would have mates
there, " friend Janal Johnston, of Cromwell, said.
Cars and motorcycles were his passion.
His HQ Holden was his pride and joy and he worked hard so he
could buy new vehicles.
He competed in motocross for a while but a serious injury
sidelined him, so he did motorcycle cross-country events
instead.
"He was a bit of a daredevil. Everything was full throttle.
He didn't do things by halves," Mrs Gregory said.
At heart, he was a family boy, and protective of his younger
sister Lana (20) and brother Chris (16).
He was a big fan of social networking website Facebook.
An "RIP Ricky Gregory" page set up on the site had attracted
143 members by yesterday afternoon.
Mr Gregory was a house painter and had worked for Mark
Nossiter since he was 16.
"He's a great worker - honest and enthusiastic - and has a
good work ethic," Mr Nossiter said.
"Ricky's just a good wee bloke and we'll miss him."
Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes, of Invercargill, said inquiries
were continuing.
