Le Grice, Le Grys et al.

Eulogy of Jack Neville Korff

Jack was born in New Plymouth on 22 February 1936, the second son of Percy and Florence (Flo) Korff.

Jack had an elder brother Eric who was 4 years his senior. Eric would have been 75 now but sadly he died at the early age of 52. Jack has a younger sister, Kathleen and she has been much involved with Jack over the last many years and is here with us today.

Percy and Flo eventually moved from New Plymouth to Auckland and after a time living above a shop in Dominion Road the family eventually moved to 12 Locarno Ave in Sandringham. Locarno Ave became the family home and I know that many of Jack’s children have fond memories of family gatherings at the home of Nana and Pop.

In March 1954 Jack married Janice (nee Hamilton) and later that year the first of their six children, Trevor, was born. Trevor was followed by Peter (1958), Robert (1962), David (1964) and Maurice and Graeme in 1968. The quest for a daughter proved elusive with the last attempt resulting in not one but two boys! Sadly, Robert was killed in a motor accident in 1984 when Jack was overseas in Papua New Guinea. The remaining five brothers (sons) are all here with us today.

After initially living with Nana and Pop, Jack and Janice moved to Te Atatu South and eventually built the family home at 18 Sherwood Avenue. This address was the family home for many years and indeed Janice lives on the property to this day.

Jack did a carpentry apprenticeship with RJ Savory and became a builder. Much of his working life ended up in the building field in one way or another.

After working for Savory’s for a time Jack moved on to Universal Homes where he worked for many years in a supervisory role. From there Jack moved to Coronet Homes and then to Silfern International – his own company. Silfern was involved in exporting kitset houses to the Islands and gave Jack the opportunity to travel throughout the pacific islands from time to time.

The business was eventually shut down when the government of NZ imposed a ban on dealings with New Caledonia as a result of the nuclear testing the French were undertaking in the Pacific. This decree basically killed Jack’s business and had a big impact on him at that time.

From there Jack went on to Fineline Joinery as a sales manager where they specialised in manufacturing Pool Tables. This business was located in Onehunga and was close to the Onehunga working men’s club where over the years, Jack spent a lot, and perhaps a little too much, time.

Eventually, in about 1985, Jack decided to try his luck working in the Pacific Islands. He secured a job as a building supervisor in Papua New Guinea. Jack spent three or four years in New Guinea but in the end he was lucky to get home alive. Hecontracted Cerebral Malaria and Black water Fever and at one point was not expected to survive. He came through this however and eventually returned to New Zealand. On his return he was never the man he once was and struggled to find a meaningful role back in his home land.

After staying with Trevor for a time, Jack spent many years living in the Salvation Army Home (Epsom Lodge) in Newmarket. He moved to Sunset lodge in Blockhouse Bay approximately 6 years ago and was there until the morning of 14 September 2007 when he suffered the stroke that eventually killed him approximately 36 hours later.

New Guinea was a turning point for Jack and for the family. Not only were there significant health issues but jack’s marriage to Jan did not survive and they eventually divorced. Fortunately however, they remained on speaking terms and continued to see each other at family events.

Despite the complaints about loneliness and the food at Sunset Lodge, by and large Jack seemed to enjoy the time he spent at the rest home and was able to develop a number of meaningful relationships with his fellow residents. In particular, Jackstruck up a warm friendship with a fellow resident, Muriel, and they spent many hours together talking about life and their families and past. Muriel visited Jack in hospital and he would have been comforted by her presence.

Throughout the duration of Jack’s stay at Sunset Lodge, his sister Kathleen was a frequent visitor and friend. They spend a lot of time together and Kathleen was a great help and comfort to Jack and was always helpful and encouraging.

Jack is survived by a total of 5 children, 15 grand children and 4 great grandchildren. All of whom will have different and precious memories of Jack and the role he played in their lives.