KEY POINTS:
The mother of slain police Sergeant Don Wilkinson will today meet the policeman injured at the time her son was shot dead.
Beverley Lawrie yesterday said she was looking forward to meeting her son's colleague, who is said to be devastated by the events last Thursday which left Mr Wilkinson the 28th New Zealand police officer to die in the line of duty.
Mrs Lawrie, a school teacher for 46 years, remained composed as she spoke to media just hours after being "overwhelmed" by tributes left for her son - some of them at the Earlsworth Rd scene where he died.
She described Mr Wilkinson, 47, as a strong, determined and fit man who lived life "on the edge".
"On the morning he was killed, he was issued with a stab-resistant jacket but, by choice, he didn't wear it," Mrs Lawrie said.
"It may not have saved his life if he had been wearing it. In fact, Donnie being Donnie, probably would not have worn it anyway."
Mrs Lawrie said her son left his Taupo high school and became employed in civil aviation.
His technical skills and being "obsessed" with electronics led to government jobs overseas installing telecommunications equipment, she said.
"He worked for the United Nations in some very difficult and hazardous places where he never knew if he was going to be safe. He did it. He loved the job. Donnie was a man who lived on the edge.
"He knew it was inherently dangerous ... it could have been any one of them. He drew the short straw."
Mr Wilkinson had sacrificed getting married when he took on his police role, she said.
"It's always sad when you only have one child. But you're very proud if your son lived every moment of his life the way he wanted to do it. He did his work well, he played his sports well.
"Whatever he attempted, he made sure that he could beat the odds - and everybody else."
Mr Wilkinson loved tramping, sailing, playing squash and long-distance cycling.
Mrs Lawrie described a time where Mr Wilkinson cycled from Auckland to Whitianga and back - "just for fun".
"He was a scruff. You wouldn't pick him for a policeman. I don't think he ever wore the uniform in his life. He never wore a tie in his life. I don't think he even owned a suit.
"That boy never gave me a moment's trouble as kids today seem to be able to do. He was committed to achievement."
Mrs Lawrie said she would be making a eulogy at Mr Wilkinson's funeral tomorrow at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Parnell.
A kowhai flower - symbolic of a kowhai tree he planted in Taupo at the age of nine - would adorn him because "that's all he would want".
A cap representing the police technical support unit he was working for and his service for the United Nations would also appear at the service.
Mrs Lawrie said she chose a full police funeral for her son because of the impact his death had had on his colleagues.
"They want to be there and I am not going to deny them."
