Jordan was an `inspiration'

IAIN MCGREGOR/The Press

PAINFUL FAREWELL: Mourners laid daffodils on the coffin of Deidre Jordan yesterday.

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Road-crash victim Deidre Jordan has been remembered as a vibrant, inspirational woman who made the most of every day.

About 350 people squeezed into the Westpark Chapel in Burnside yesterday to farewell Jordan, 67, who died with long-time friend Norman Fitt, 73, after their car was hit by a vehicle fleeing police in central Christchurch last Thursday.

"Deidre wouldn't want it to be a tough day, she would want you to all remember her the way she wanted to be remembered," her brother, John Holm, told the service.

Holm said his sister led a full life but had always been "a shocker" when it came to being on time.

He remembered how she had once told him there was simply not enough time in the day to do all the things she wanted.

"Oh how we wish you were late for that last appointment," he said.

Although Jordan's commitment to fitness and exercise was known, the other aspects of her life as a mother, musician, gardener, cook and friend were all remembered.

"If our mum was a colour, she would be a rainbow," said her daughter, Tania Lamb, who addressed the congregation with Jordan's other daughter, Melanie Jordan.

The pair remembered Jordan's uncanny ability to listen to music on the radio and then reproduce it on the piano, although her pride in her appearance meant her long nails were always audible as she hit the keys.

"She would be quite chuffed about the public tributes that have been paid to her. However, she would be pretty put out about being reported as `elderly'," Lamb said.

Descriptions of Jordan's appetite for sport and exercise definitely gave the lie to the "elderly" tag.

Bevan Eyles, a gym instructor, told the service Jordan always pushed herself hard at the Les Mills gym she attended with Fitt.

Jordan's personal best time for a marathon was about four hours and 10 minutes, he said.

"She was an impressive athlete. The thing about Dee was that she was an inspiration to so many people around her," Eyles said.

Fendalton Open Air School's kapa-haka group, some weeping, performed as her coffin was taken out of the chapel.

A celebration of Fitt's life will be held at the Harewood Crematorium tomorrow afternoon.

- © Fairfax NZ News