KEY POINTS:
The partner of Air New Zealand crash victim Murray White told his memorial service her love for him would "never waver".
Hundreds of relatives, friends and colleagues gathered at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club in East Auckland on Wednesday to farewell the aircraft engineer.
His partner Emma Gould said she had been on an "amazing ride" with White, the Howick and Pakuranga Times reported, and his son, Hayden, was "the light of his life".
"I'm gutted we can't be together in person but we will always be together in spirit," she told the service.
"Your love for life and family seemed boundless. Muzzie my soul mate, my love for you will never waver. You will be with me for the rest of my life."
White was among five Air NZ staff and two Germans to die when the Airbus A320 they were testing plunged into the sea off Perpignan in France in November.
His family decided to push on with the memorial service, despite learning only a few days earlier his remains had been found.
Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe was among the attendees and said he wished he had known White personally.
