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A Taupo congregation is in mourning after an elderly churchgoer died as a result of being hit by a car driven by a man on his way to the same church.
Joan Patricia Brough, 86, was struck as she crossed Acacia Bay Rd to reach St Patrick's Catholic Church on Sunday morning.
She died of her injuries in Waikato Hospital.
Miss Brough, who was not married and had no children, walked the 100m from her house to the church every day at 9am, but was going to 8am Mass on Sunday.
A neighbour said the car was driven by a man from the church and he and his wife, who was a friend of Miss Brough, were "devastated".
Friends yesterday remembered her as a "real Christian lady" with a love of sharing recipes, roses and funny sayings.
Police have yet to establish the cause of the accident, but witnesses said it was raining heavily and Miss Brough was using an umbrella and possibly looking down.
She had never married, spending 10 years looking after her ailing mother, and worked as a hotel receptionist.
A neighbour said Miss Brough was "a delight" and had seemed younger than her 86 years. "She looked good ... She'd been a slim, very attractive woman [who] dressed beautifully and had good taste."
Helen Molenaar, Miss Brough's next-door neighbour, said the elderly woman would often ask her and her husband in for a drink.
Everyone at St Patrick's was very upset, she said.
