Elizabeth PLUMRIDGE Obituary

I was saddened to hear of Libby's death. We were PhD students together at the ANU. I remember Libby as a kind and caring Friend.

once met never forgotten. always in my heart.

Libby at her home in Wellington around 2015-2016

I feel shocked and saddened to hear of Libby's death. I'd known her as a friend for forty years, since the days that Stewart describes at Health Planning and Research Unit, then later when she worked at Canterbury Area Heatlth Board, at Christchurch Med School and when she moved to Wellington. She had a stunning eco-house with passive solar heating built near Prebbleton where she and Anna lived for some years. She was a woman of huge talents, with a network of friends in widely different circles, from academia to meditation to faith communities and more. I feel her loss keenly. If there are others who would like to join me in a celebration of her life sometime when we are able to gather again, do please contact me. Love to Anna and all who miss her.

It was a great shock to learn today at our Tai Chi class at the Quaker Centre of Elizabeth's death. I had missed our previous week's class and had not seen her death notice in the Press.
I met Elizabeth just over a year ago when she started to come to our weekly Tai Chi class. She believed it was very beneficial to her and asked for some extra sessions. And so she started coming to our home for Tai Chi and my partner and I started to get to know her. Elizabeth became very fond of our 2 dogs, a border collie and a lab, and so it was great to see her in the photos taken by her friend Stewart with her two dogs. She thought she could no longer manage a dog but in the last 2 conversations I had with her she was very enthusiastic about looking after a couple of chickens. We were on the same wave length politically and in September she and her mother Rose joined me at a local Green Party meeting on water issues and waste disposal. Elizabeth was thrilled that her mother really got into spirit of the meeting because it was not long after that that Rose's health began to deteriorate. Elizabeth was very proud of her daughter's work and told us about the subject of her thesis.
Elizabeth was such a classy woman, her demeanor, her speech and her clothes, especially her hats, which I often admired. Despite difficulties with mobility, she was a great walker and twice she walked all the way, about 5 and half km, to our place for Tai Chi.
I admired her courage. I never heard her complain about her pretty major health concerns.
Dear Elizabeth, today I keep remembering all the conversations we had together about the world, politics and the environment and I will remember you every Wed morning when we do Tai Chi.

Further to my main entry in the Guest Book, these are just a couple of photos of Libby from the late 1970s, with her lovely dogs

I worked with Libby and got to know her at the Health Planning and Research Unit in Christchurch in the late 1970s. After her marriage broke up, Libby and I were in a relationship and I lived with her (and her two dogs and my cat) for a while in Huntsbury Hill.
I remember Libby as an incredibly intelligent woman who was intensely passionate about New Zealand social history, and particularly the part played by women. At the time she was writing her PhD History thesis, and I remember what a perfectionist she was when writing it - it had to be exactly right! I remember being horrified when she tore up a whole section of what seemed to me brilliant writing because it wasn't how she wanted it.
Libby was also a very talented artist and illustrated children's books, the one I remember being Elsie Locke's Moko's Hideout'. Elsie Locke was an important figure for Libby in view of her historical writing, political activism, feminism, and role in the peace and labour movements, all of which were central to Libby and her family. She knew so much about New Zealand and Maori history, and could explain things in the most wonderful, enthusiastic way.
Despite her serious side, Libby also had a great sense of humour and an infectious laugh. Unfortunately after we broke up and I moved to the U.K., I wasn't able to see her again, but I have never forgotten what a beautiful woman she was and how much I loved her. It is very true that she will never be forgotten.

I went to primary school with Libby, at Chch East. I remember her and her mother very fondly indeed. Libby was a very creative storyteller and I loved to act out her stories with her during playtime at school. Rest peacefully, Libby.

Remember Libby from when she was a travel client of mine before my retirement. Lovely lady - shared lots of travel stories. Will be remembered. Fay Hodge