Luke Ranby headstone disappearance: Stranger donates replica for baby’s grave

Tania Ranby, left, and Jack Piggott-Newton with the two plaques he made her after the Massey mum discovered the headstone of her stillborn son Luke Ranby disappeared. Photo / Alex Burton

Tania Ranby again has a tangible reminder of her baby boy’s memory.

The Massey mum was left distraught after a headstone for her son Luke, who died at birth 23 years ago, disappeared from her neighbour’s Makora Rd home last Monday.

The headstone - now the subject of police inquiries - is still missing.

But Ranby’s faith in the goodness of others has been restored after Pukekohe man Jack Piggott-Newton made, at no charge, a replica headstone for her baby boy.

“It’s still really sad”, Ranby said of the original headstone’s disappearance.

“But what this has done is make me feel good, in that not only can I have Luke’s original [headstone] script, but also in knowing there’s people like Jack out there.”

The grave of twin brother Luke and Liam Ranby, showing Luke's original and now missing headstone, at the bottom.

Piggott-Newton delivered the new granite headstone to Ranby, along with a surprise - a second plaque with both her late sons’ names on it for her to keep at home.

Luke did not have a heart but was kept alive in the womb by his twin brother Liam, whose heart pumped blood for both.

Tragically, Liam Ranby died suddenly of an aneurysm in 2021, 11 days after his 21st birthday.

After Liam was buried with his twin brother, a shared headstone was made to honour both. Luke’s headstone was then removed and Ranby’s neighbour was building a new housing for it to eventually be returned to the brothers’ grave.

It was from the neighbour’s property the headstone disappeared on Monday.

Police were called on Tuesday and did a forensic examination of the scene on Wednesday, Ranby said.

Police weren’t immediately able to comment on their inquiries.

Tania Ranby and her daughter Arnika unveil the combined headstone for their sons/brothers Liam and Luke Ranby. Liam died in October 2021 aged 21, his twin Luke was stillborn in 2000

Piggott-Newton heard about Ranby’s situation after his wife read about her plight on nzherald.co.nz on Tuesday.

The couple have faced challenges of their own in the last few years, losing a baby to miscarriage in 2020 and his wife this year undergoing a second kidney transplant, after which she suffered serious post-operation complications, Piggott-Newton said.

He’s also a twin and was born a month before Ranby’s sons.

“I felt really sad for her. I know I can’t replace the original but this is something I can do.”

The 23-year-old started his business General Restorations New Zealand this year to supplement the income he received as his wife’s carer. His work included making and restoring headstones, and restoring medals, from commissions made through the business’ Facebook page.

He does all the work by hand, with it taking a day to create Luke Ranby’s replica headstone.

Piggott-Newton also restored decades old “forgotten” graves of infants at his local cemetery for free and says he is a volunteer firefighter for the Pukekohe Volunteer Fire Brigade.

“If life, you are remembered for your actions. I haven’t got that much, but this is something I can give.”

Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.