Henry Bush

Henry Ross Bush. Photo / Supplied

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Henry Ross Bush, a bricklayer, died when the facade of a bakery on Riccarton Road collapsed during the earthquake.

His death was confirmed by police on March 8, 2011.

Henry's daughter, Liana Bush, said her father had finished a job sometime after noon on the day the earthquake struck.

He was likely about to get his usual - "a pie and probably a milkshake" - when the shaking started and his car was pounded with bricks and rubble from the bakery, she said.

Ms Bush and her partner, Marcus White, found her father's crushed car after visiting the Riccarton Road site a few days after the earthquake.

"It's just wrong that he's gone like this. We went searching for him and managed to get through the cordon at the hospital," she said through tears.

A police officer who knew her father told her what happened to him and where to look.

"He warned me it wouldn't be pleasant but if I had to go there I should go - but I wasn't expecting to see that."

Ms Bush said it was ironic her father had been a bricklayer since he was 15 and it was "bloody bricks" that killed him.

"He would have found that funny. That's the sort of sense of humour he had."

Ms Bush managed to salvage some of her father's possessions from his car, including his comb, sunglasses and his gloves, which she put on.

"He was just so special, so old-school, such a good man. He was teaching me how to ride. I was just cycling with him the other day and he was pissed off 'cause I wouldn't put my cleats on. I kept riding in my normal running shoes."

Despite his 75 years, Henry remained an avid cyclist.

"Cycling was his life." He had 10 bikes at home and "all the flash cycling gear, like Lance Armstrong".

A well-known cyclist around Christchurch, he represented New Zealand and had started a cycling group on Wednesday nights.

Henry was described by those who knew him as the much-loved husband of Suzanne, a loving father and "Pa" of 10 grandchildren.

Ms Bush said her father taught her and her sisters Nadine, Monique and Nicole and brother Greg good values.

"He was a humble man ... He achieved so much and taught us so much. He's got all these grandchildren who love him so much."

He also taught them hard work. "He always taught us we had to earn what we had. ... it's not what you earn in life, it's what you save."

Friends said 'Bushie' was a "great man to work along side with, his smile and ability to get the job completed made a builder's task a lot easier. The industry will sorely miss people like Ross".