Memorial to Tanya Burr, killed 15 September 2002

Portraits (part 2)

A Freyberg High School portrait from 1995 aged thirteen (almost fourteen)

A family portrait from early 1997, when Tanya was about fifteen.

A photo taken by Auntie Vera (in fact Tanya's great aunt and adopted grandmother after the death of her real grandmother after a long illness in 1995)  taken in her rose garden at 107 Benmore Ave., PN, in early 1998, when Tanya was sixteen. 

Vera died in May 1999, the day after Tanya's 18th birthday, and Tanya was a pallbearer at the Kelvin Grove Cemetery section - with great difficulty in her platform shoes and carrying the heavy oak casket that greatly belied the weight of Vera. Tanya would, therefore, have totally sympathised with Anita's struggles with her own heavy oak casket - but would have appreciated (and furthermore, she would have expected) the classy oak casket she received, whatever the hassles! She'd have found it all quite amusing (and especially all the anxious guys standing round at the ready if the worst happened) - though perhaps the 'dreaded' heavy oak caskets are a recent 'Burr family tradition' that others might not instantly understand and enjoy as we do.

Tanya's passport photo, presumably taken in late 2000 or early 2001 when her passport was issued. She discovered the pitfall of changing her hair colour when she went to reboard our plane at Singapore when en route to Norway (while Kieran and I strolled around the terminal at about 5 AM local time). She was stopped by the security people as the 2002 version of Tanya had brunette hair, while the 2001 version of her was not only blonde, but also had a "chubby" face! She was especially upset at being described as having been "chubby" by the Singaporean security man!! When I got back, everything was quickly sorted. Despite fearing she would have to dye her hair blonde again before she returned to NZ alone, she experienced no similar problems.

Tanya as a wary (of mum with camera as usual) blonde in February 2001, just before moving to Rotorua.

Tanya posing for a passport-style photo around early 2002. The 35mm negatives and two (of four originally) tiny photos were found in her paperwork. As she already had a passport and drivers licence, this one is probably the one taken as an ID photo for her job doing door-to-door market surveying for the market research company A.C. Nielsen Ltd. - Rotorua Branch during the first half of 2002. 

Tanya's 21st family party at Dannevirke, May 2002

Tanya on her Contiki trip, with her hair messed up following a river cruise, a few weeks before her death aged twenty-one. This photo is also on her headstone.