A familiar face around central Dunedin has been remembered as a much-loved “one of a kind” individual. Keren Fitzsimmons, who died recently aged 50, was a frequent presence on the city’s streets. At a small special ceremony at Yours on Sunday, people paid their respects to someone they considered a friend or acquaintance. Multiple people also remembered Ms Fitzsimmons, who grew up in Sawyers Bay and Port Chalmers but had lived in Brockville for years, in social media posts. “You would see Keren near the port a lot. "We used to say hello. "It’s nice to know she’s not suffering now,” one person said at the service. Another person remembered her as a “tall, skinny chick". "We’d always be stoked to see you.” There was also talk at the ceremony about the health system in general. “Keren was ostracised from society,” one person said. “The health system is a joke, it abandons people who need it the most. "Rest easy Keren, you’re away from the bullies.” A nurse said he used to visit Ms Fitzsimmons at boarding houses. She had a lot of humour and was “one of a kind”, he said. Ms Fitzsimmons had frequent troubles with the law, but had “lots of people looking out for her”, those gathered heard. Brockville Community Connect manager Irene Harris said Ms Fitzsimmons frequently visited their community house. “When we shared the information about Keren with our wider community, it was really awesome to hear some of the stories. “One of our residents apparently met her in Wakari [Hospital] where she was in one of the wards there.” The resident was apparently there to clean the carpets, she said. “So she says to this guy, ‘will you help me escape?’, And ‘can I jump in the boot of your car?’. “He just thought it was absolutely hilarious that this woman had no shyness. “She had a goal and no matter what her situation was, she did her best to get it.” A social worker said Ms Fitzimmons had a lot of people looking out for her. “I'm sure she had the odd night sleeping in the toilet there and you'd get a constable arrive. “Not in a police way, but in a social way, so that they could sort of make sure she was safe. “She was quite happy.” On social media people recalled having adventures with Ms Fitzsimmons as a child, “from mountain hikes to to jumping in massive mud puddles” and recalled her love of lolly cake and her parents, including her mother Cindy, who was a nurse. She is survived by her sister.
