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David BEDFORD Obituary

BEDFORD, David John:
On Sunday, February 11, 2018, died at Nurse Maude Hospice. Dearly loved husband of Sandra, and father of Sam. Son of Frank and May (deceased), brother of the late Michael, and of Brian Harnor, and Dianne Hickling. A wonderful man. Thank you to the staff of Nurse Maude for their special care of David. Messages may be addressed to The Family of the late David Bedford, c/- PO Box 39001, Christchurch 8545. In lieu of flowers, donations to Nurse Maude in memory of David would be appreciated and may be made at the service. A Celebration of David's life will be held at Environment Canterbury, 200 Tuam Street, Tomorrow (Saturday), at 2.00pm, private cremation thereafter.

Published by The Press from Feb. 14 to Feb. 16, 2018.

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Memories and Condolences
for David BEDFORD

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16 Entries

Uncle David was to me and my two sisters a bit of a god when we were growing up, there is only six years difference between him and my older sister and when we were small we would follow him around everywhere on our visits to the Hawke's Bay, where in fact we all ended up living. Instead of thinking we were a bit of a pain, he was always patient and indulgent with us and as we all grew into adulthood, we had a lovely relationship with him, Sandra and Sam.

There are many words to describe Uncle David, but mostly he was a gentleman, a good kind man, articulate, intelligent and with a lovely sense of humour.
We have all been really privileged to have such a lovely Uncle as him and we have always appreciated his kindness and support with Mum (his sister Dianne) and Dad over the years.
You will agree that he was taken far too soon from this world.

Eighteen months ago he did a reading at my father's funeral, this must have been incredibly hard considering he knew he was not well himself. He was such a lovely speaker and the passage he read is most appropriate in regards to his life.

Much love
Sue Aldersley, Dianne Hickling, Linda McIntyre and Cheryl McLellan

A Life Well Lived
A life well lived is a precious gift
Of hope and strength and grace,
From someone who has made our world
A brighter, better place
It's filled with moments, sweet and sad
With smiles and sometimes tears,
With friendships formed and good times shared
And laughter through the years.
A life well lived is a legacy
Of joy and pride and pleasure,
A living, lasting memory
Our grateful hearts we'll treasure

Sue Aldersley

March 15, 2018

We met David via his wife Sandra as we were both genealogists. On first meeting David, it was like knowing someone a lifetime. His generosity, kindness and hospitality shone through. It was our pleasure to have you and Sandra on boat 'Kelly' for your Wedding Anniversary a few years ago. We will always remember you with great fondness David as we really did enjoy our conversations over a glass or two. I for one, will miss your wise counsel and over the years have appreciated your advice. We really looked forward to taking you for a walk on 'our beach' in Northland but you were too ill. So, instead when Sandra visits, we'll do that walk for you. Fare thee well dear friend.

MarkandGlynnis Paton

February 25, 2018

David had left a profound impact on many of the people who worked for or with him. I have always valued his leadership, mentoring and his caring nature. He believed in the value of a good strong team and our time at Telecom we experienced this due to his style and influence. I have so many fond memories of this time and the changes made for the good of a large organisation. A number of the Telecom HR team have commented here, and I too echo what has been said of such a great person.

Lynn McDougal

February 25, 2018

I wrote to David before he left us along the following lines.
After talking to him it brought back memories of the five years I spent in the Electricity Corporation of NZ with a range of quality colleagues, none better than David. I enjoyed the time very much indeed and it was greatly helped by working with him. The industrial relations challenges got severe at times and David was always wise and considered and had splendid intuition about when to settle or when to push on with negotiations as we went through the huge changes of the 1980s and 1990s.
I always had total confidence in his judgement which is praise indeed.
I guess that was then reflected in David joining me at Telecom for another round, one which during the time we were there together was very successful.
David made a massive and positive contribution to the transformation of both ECNZ and Telecom into such successful commercial entities and he epitomised what high quality industrial and human resource relations are all about, examples which have been imitated elsewhere but which can be too easily forgotten, as subsequent governments have sometimes done.
I appreciated hugely David's wise counsel over the years we worked together and his fine leadership talents which he shared so generously and unselfishly with his colleagues. He had a gift for nurturing young people. Those around him benefitted not only from his professionalism but also from his gift for friendship and good relationship building. David always brought deep insight into the problems we faced and his integrity was of the highest order.
And he had the great bonus of being a real pleasure to work with.
Dame Margaret Bazley speaks of those same talents and how much she and her colleagues gained from having him as part of their team at ECAN. So I can pleasingly take some credit for the inspired idea to suggest to her that David would be ideal in working with her on the post-earthquake restructurings in Canterbury. I was delighted when he took over from her as Chairman of Environment Canterbury.
David was a fine person and all his friends and colleagues will miss him greatly. He loved Sandra and Sam deeply and our warmest thoughts are with them as they cope with the loss of this wonderful man. He made a splendid contribution to New Zealand.

Sir Roderick Deane

February 20, 2018

DJB - One of the precious people in our lives. Treasured workmate and friend since 1982. Sandra, when I spoke with David in December, he said you had been 'absolutely fantastic' in your love and care for him over the very stressful months as his health was failing. Thank you. You and Sam will miss him so very deeply and our thoughts and love are there with you both.
Love and hugs, Paul and Donna xxx

Donna Bailey

February 19, 2018

To Sandra and Sam.....although I never met David, I was so sorry to hear about his death. Please accept my Sincere Condolences and take care of each other in the time to come. Judy Meek.

February 19, 2018

David was a wonderful example of not only how to be a great boss, leader and mentor, but also how to be a decent and kind human being.

Tracy Winton

February 19, 2018

Farewell David. You were much loved and respected by a generation of talented men and women who looked up to you and who carry on your legacy, because of your insight, care and wisdom.

Alan Davis

February 17, 2018

David was kind and wise. He always made time for everyone who worked with him, whatever their role. He handled difficult situations with good humour and panache. David could make work seem a pleasure, even when it was challenging. I will miss working this special man, and my thoughts are with his family.

Alistair Humphrey

February 16, 2018

David was such a special man. A fine intelligence and great insights into human nature. His passion for sandra, Sam and their great wines was infectious.
Rest in peace after your active and purposeful life,dear David

Gillian Deane

February 15, 2018

Dear Sandra and Sam
Words just aren't enough, Mr B was an awesome man, he provided mentorship and great friendship along with a lot of laughs. He may have at one time been my boss, though I have always thought of David as my friend. You will never be alone, as David's presence and strength will continue to surround you both. Much love and hugs to you Sandra and Sam xox

Julz Manu

February 15, 2018

Sandra Sam
So sad to loose him. Helen and I will be thinking of you this weekend.
John Haslemore Auckland

February 15, 2018

We have lost a wonderful mentor, leader and talented Riesling grower. He was instrumental in shaping our careers and we are better for our association with him, his confidence in us and the challenges he shared with us.

Crispin Garden-Webster

February 14, 2018

David was a great leader in the workplace. Like many of his team, I profoundly benefited from his leadership and the work opportunities provided and will always remember his empathy, insight, wisdom and the time he always had for people.

Martin Price

February 14, 2018

Sandra/Sam
I wanted to pass on my sincere condolences to you both. I had been kept up on David's health via Chris Rutledge and Dennis Roberts. Unsure what to say, but I sent David a message last year after seeing him at the airport and said
David. So good to see you tonight. I'm unsure if I have ever thanked you for all you did for me in the Telecom days. You gave me such a great grounding and so many opportunities I know I would not have achieved what I have or be doing what I am now without your support and guidance - you were a wonderful leader and one that I learnt a great deal from. Thanks, Andrew'
I backed this up later with another email late last year when I heard he was unwell thanking him again.
I have also been in contact with a number of my peers who knew David, the comments back were all similar, that he was a gentleman', that he taught people so much, that he
was one of the very best, for whom I had total respect and will always value the many years I worked very closely with David in ECNZ then Telecom',
David was a good man who gave both of us a great opportunity at Telecom including space and support to perform. Too young to be gone - by far.
'We have lost a wonderful mentor and leader. I often find myself recalling and relaying some of the conversations I/we shared with David. He was instrumental in shaping our careers and we were made better by our association with him, his confidence in us and the challenges he shared with us. As you say Steelie, we were blessed.'
I know you will be hurting, but I wanted to say that David impacted a lot of people as noted above, and that is something not all people do. We were fortunate to know him. Thank you, both for sharing him with us all. Thanks for reading and please know there are many people thinking about you both at this time.

Andrew Steele

February 14, 2018

There were good reasons why several of David's work colleagues referred to him as the great man'. After working closely with David since he joined ECNZ in 1987, I came to have total respect for his abilities as a modern business manager, and an exceptionally empathetic and modest man. David excelled in his strategic business and leadership challenges; his relationships with people were exemplary. It was entirely fitting that David went on to create an exceptional vineyard producing excellent wine. I offer my sincerest sympathies to David's family, in particular Sandra and Sam.

Peter Senior

February 14, 2018

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