Tara Gregory

This is what Tara’s Mum said at her Funeral

I want to talk briefly about Tara. Other people will talk in more detail about parts of her life. Tara was a very private person, who gave away very little information about herself until she knew you really well. She liked to remain in the background and just work quietly away. In fact, many people have said to me how much she would have hated having her photo plastered all over TV, newspapers, women’s magazines and so on. Tara was born at Middlemore Hospital, lived all her life in this area, went to Pre School at this church, then started at Elim when she was 5.

Tara loved her family, her friends, her cats, her school, her car and her sport, not necessarily in that order.

Tara was a loyal and caring friend. I remember when Tom arrived at school when she was in year 10. She came home and said “There’s this new boy from Taiwan called Tom. He’s really cool. There’s something wrong with him, but I don’t know what and I don’t care. I think we’ll probably invite him to join our group”. I said “I’m sure he’d like that.” Then she said “Yeah, he’ll fit in with my group, because we’re all a bit different, so no one will notice anything about Tom”. Sorry to her group, but that was Tara. She told it like it was. But that’s what happened. Tom joined their group and possibly made some of the best friends he’s ever had. I’m proud of her and her friends for doing that. She was also a good friend to me. Because there were just the 2 of us since she was 3, we were more like “buddies” than mother and daughter.

Sport played a big part in Tara’s life. Some days, she went from volleyball after school, to soccer training, to trampolining training and then home for tea at 8:30pm, and then did her homework. She was always busy, but she had her life organised. Tara didn’t find everything she did in sport or school easy, but she always pushed herself to take up challenges.

Travel was another passion of Tara’s. Over the years she had the chance to visit Australia, Fiji, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, America, Canada, Britain, France and Germany. She enjoyed all of these holidays, except Germany, because too many people smoked. Those who know Tara really well will know her “anti smoking” crusade!! She was definitely into healthy living and eating and was always trying to convert me.

She was proud of getting her licence and her own car and was really looking forward to getting her full licence last Monday.

If I was asked to give 5 words to sum up Tara, I would say she was the following: quiet, determined, caring, hardworking and loyal.

Tara means many things in several different languages. In Hindi Tara means “star”. Many people in tributes to Tara have described her as a “shining star” and I know that she is shining in heaven. As one church family wrote in her tribute, Tara was a star by name and by nature. Keep on shining brightly, Tara.

(Just a note: Tara was in her school soccer & volleyball teams, Ellerslie Under 17 soccer team and belonged to Icon trampoline club where she trained to compete in trampolining competitions. She loved Maths & Science as school subjects).

Tara was a one of a kind friend. For her, once you were her friend, you were her friend for life, no matter what life threw your way. She was the type of person who put all her energy and time into accomplishing the task which lay before her, in every aspect of her life. I have seen her give her best and only her best. She always made sure to include everyone around her in what she was doing no matter their race, colour or gender. Tara loved life, she loved the great outdoors and she loved sports. She loved having fun, being silly and making jokes, but above all she loved God.