Peter Ashton would build you up one minute, then pour cold water on you the next.
The latter was very much part of his cheeky personality.
He was a prankster.
He was also a highly respected dentist.
A hockey player of note.
A committed runner.
A treasured member of the hockey community.
But most importantly, he was a good, family man who was always home by 5.30pm to catch up with his four children and his late wife, Verena.
He gave people the gift of his time.
Even if that was to pull over and pick you up from the bus stop in the morning and give you a ride to work — thanks for that, Pete.
Mr Ashton lost a four-year battle with prostate cancer and died in Dunedin on August 12, aged 76.
Son Andrew Ashton described his father as being full of energy and fun.
"Even at the end stage, he still went through it all with a smile on his face," he said.
"He always had all sorts of gags going on. He had a very dry sense of humour.
"I was the person who was having a shower at the time."
During the funeral service, John Daniel, another valued member of the hockey community and a good friend of Mr Ashton’s, told everyone "Pete had wanted people to stick to two minutes and no more than 10 lies", which drew laughter and resonated with people who knew him well.
Mr Ashton also insisted on a sing-along and requested When The Saints Go Marching In.
He was always keen to get in a laugh, but Daniels said they vetoed the idea.
More laughter. Mr Ashton would have loved that. He embraced life .
He was born in Dunedin on November 23, 1948.
His father, Albert Ashton, owned a plastering business that is still in family hands five generations later.
His mother, Mavis Ashton (nee Sainsbury), was a homemaker and the couple had six children: Paula (1934), Philip (1935), Robert (1938), Keith (1944), Glenda (1945) and Peter.
They lived in South Dunedin and Mr Ashton was schooled in the area. He attended Forbury Primary School, Macandrew Intermediate School and King’s High School, where he was a prefect and a house captain.
He studied at the University of Otago Dental School and obtained a bachelor of dental surgery and masters of dental surgery.
He met his future wife Verena during his final years at university and the couple married in May, 1977 at the Dunedin South Presbyterian Church.
They had four children: Penny (1979), Sarah (1981), Chris (1985) and Andrew (1987).
Following his long stint at university, Mr Ashton worked at British Columbia University Dental School, teaching paediatric dentistry for two years.
He returned to Dunedin with Verena two years later to start a family.
Verena, his daughter Penny and niece Glenys all worked in the practice with him.
"Dad built up a very strong practice over the years and had very loyal patients," Andrew Ashton said.
"Many of them remained with him until his retirement — often entire families and cross generational.
"He was well known for making jokes in the chair and singing. He was very good at putting patients at ease and calming nervous patients."
When he was not working or at home with his family, he was either out running or playing hockey.
He represented New Zealand at all age levels, from secondary schools to masters, from 1960 to 2021.
He came awfully close to playing for the national side too, but "screwed" his knee, he told the Otago Daily Times in a 2011 article on local heroes.
He was selected in the New Zealand squad that prepared for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, but he got injured during a social game of rugby.
He said he should have listened to his coach at Macandrew Intermediate School, who, years earlier, warned him he had too much potential to risk throwing it all away with an injury on the rugby field.
Mr Ashton played more than 60 games for the various New Zealand masters teams through the various age groups.
In the 1980s, he enjoyed competitive running and clocked a personal best time for a marathon of 2hrs 38mins.
Through that time, he continued to play and coach hockey.
He was part of the backbone of the hockey community throughout his adult life.
Mr Ashton did a lot of coaching, but he was one of those blokes who made himself available to assist however he could, even if that was just to offer some friendly support.
Mr Ashton is survived by his children Penny, Sarah, Chris and Andrew. — Adrian Seconi
