A large crowd gathered to pay their respects to an “inspirational” Queenstown woman and see a memorial bench unveiled.
About 100 friends and relatives of Brenda Cayless met near her home at Lakeside Estate earlier this month.
Brenda (63) died at her home in Queenstown on Sunday, May 6 after developing a brain tumour.
Her friend of 10 years and owner of Laurel Bank House B&B, Sheena Haywood, remembers her as a “wonderful woman”.
“Brenda was incredibly inspiring as a character.
“She was very caring and you knew where you stood with her.
“There were some wonderful speeches on the day.”
Twenty of the group ran and walked an 8km loop of the area to mark Brenda’s outgoing nature. She’d embraced the challenge of running the New York Marathon in her late 50s.
The bench, which overlooks Lake Wakatipu, is located near a garden space, which she and her husband Glen helped create for the local community.
Brenda was mother to Rebecca, Naomi, Grant and Monique and grandmother to Bailey, Brittany, Charlotte and Lachlan.
