Rotorua leader Tai Eru remembered with laughter and song

It was a morning for celebrating life, the pews at St Faith's Church were full, the chairs laid out to standing room only, as hundreds came together to remember Tai Eru.

The sounds of more than 100 voices joining in waiata echoed through the ceiling of the church, floating out across Ohinemutu, disappearing on the stages around Rotorua where he once performed.

Taiwhanake Eru-Morehu, known to most as Tai Eru, a showman, advocate for Rotorua, excellent golfer and Te Arawa kaumatua died on Thursday aged 84.

Mourners shared a laugh at some of their favourite memories and shed a tear as he departed St Faith's for the final time.

The order of service was overseen by Reverend Tom Poata, who said the service was design to be full of wonderful speeches.

"Tai and I had some very in-depth discussions over light refreshments," he said, setting the room off in laughter.

"We just knew what it took to fix the world."

He said the role of any kaumatua was to leave his family behind confident in their future and Eru had done that.

"He was afraid of nobody, he didn't care how expensive their suits were compared to his, although I am sure Marie (Eru's wife) his weren't cheap.

"He was a joy and he was a pleasure, we can say now if only we had recorded it more, but never a generation there was that didn't say, if only."

Turning to Eru he said, "you were a gift, you were a gem".

"He knew how to laugh at himself and how to laugh with others, to laugh at the world and the silliness and irony of it all."

Sir Toby Curtis opened the speeches by saying Eru was, to many, a close and dear friend.

"Taiwharanake, you were a cut above the rest of us, a gifted sportsman, a talented singer, a man who set high personal standards in dress and had an eloquence in speech and a high sense of personal principles.

"People would leave you, knowing they were very much appreciated."

Former Rotorua Girls' High School principal Annette Joyce said, with his "sparkling eyes", Eru made everyone feel special.

"He entertained us all so easily and his music and his voice will live on in my memory for the rest of my life."

She said, during her time at girls 'high, Eru would just "pop in" at the most "extraordinary times, but always at the most opportune".

Image 1 of 7:

"He had lots of ideas he would gently drop in my ears, encouraging and supporting the kaupapa of the school.

"His calm manner and relaxed way of tackling things proved invaluable."

She said his contribution to Rotorua would never be forgotten and he would live on in the hearts and memories of those there forever.

"It is the words of Dr Seuss I think of at this moment, 'sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory' and he left us with many memories.

"To his family, you truly enabled Tai to be the person he was and that was a significant part of a great crusade.

"To Tai, I hope you're having a lovely glass of red wine with Mita [Mohi] and Howard [Morrison]."

For Tom Walters, Eru was not only his mentor but his cousin.

"As he would say on many occasions, 'we've got too many hui and not enough do-ey', so I will make this quick," he said.

He said Eru was "always ahead of him, older than him and was better at most things".

"Not only did I enjoy his company, but I learned a lot from him. He was also a constant adviser on golf."

He said, to raucous laughter, that for many of his generation "the Sir Howard quartet was the greatest thing since toothpaste took over from baking soda".

"To reflect on all the achievements of Tai would take more time than I have today, but the thing I will acknowledge is the way he has brought us all together.

"It didn't matter about colour or creed, he could always bring us together and his vision for the future was amazing."

Alan Skipwith shared a story from a visit he had with Eru a few weeks ago.

Tai Eru died on October 11, 2018

"He had heard the news Aunty Bea had passed away and was regretful he couldn't make it to her tangi.

"Even though he was down on energy, he started to sing, out from his mouth came 'simply the best'."

He said it was only one of many great memories he had of Eru.

"Today I ask you to simply think of your favourite memory, or your best experience with Tai, because if we put that all together that's what he meant to us.

"As his health declined we were lucky to have plenty of notice this day was going to come and we had plenty of opportunities to hold him, to hug him, to kiss him and tell him that we love him."

He finished his speech with the chorus to the hymn He Touched Me.

"He touched me and made me whole."

The last of the speeches came from his son, Michael, who was flanked by his siblings Shona, Dale and Richard.

He said on his dad's birth certificate his middle name was Chrysler, as he was born in the back of one on July 11, 1934.

"He was baptised at St Faith's in 1936 and luckily, by that point, the Chrysler had disappeared," he joked.

"It is fitting, that his final service is here, in a place he loved so much."

He said his dad was a "pretty positive guy", even when he received his cancer diagnosis two years ago.

"He was told the average life expectancy was two to five years, but he would be closer to two to three.

"He thought about it for a while and then said, 'I like the sound of five', I think he would have liked another 10."

He shared a story about a day he was racing down Maniatutu Rd, where they lived, attempting to "break his land speed record".

"I was doing really well, ahead of time going into the second to last corner, then on the gravel road I completely spun out.

"Luckily I ended up in the middle of the road, but I was right next to the woolshed and I looked up and there was dad watching me, so I slowly drove over and got out of the car even slower than that.

"After a pause, he said to me 'tricky corner that one ae'."

He said his dad had always been a rugby fan and would get them up in the middle of the night to listen to the transistor radio when the All Blacks were playing South Africa.

"Then we got a television and he would bring the guys from the band back to watch.

"That's where he learnt all of his coaching, game analysis, tactics and finally refereeing.

"We still believe he was the first TV official."

He said he had a lot of respect for his dad, who had no shame in crying.

"As I've got older and reflected on that, it's wonderful."

Music played and a haka was performed as his body was carried from the church.

He was then taken to the Rotorua Crematorium.

Eru is survived by his wife Marie, his children Dale, Michael and Shona and his three grandsons.