Vanessa Herekiuha loved walking around the Wanganui bridges and fishing from the boardwalk off Taupo Quay.
So yesterday her daughters gathered at that spot to remember their mother - a year after she died of stomach cancer, just a short time after the condition was diagnosed.
"She used to walk these bridges all the time, that's why we came down here today," Ataria Herekiuha said.
This weekend Vanessa's seven children are fundraising to pay for the unveiling of their mother's gravestone.
Daughter Jurita is having her hair shaved as part of the effort which doubles as a bid to raise awareness for the Cancer Society.