Henwood’s tearful tribute to father Ray
It was a funeral where a comedian drew tears and one of the biggest laughs came from a judge.
As his crisp white casket, dressed with red and white roses, sat centre stage at Wellington’s Opera House yesterday afternoon, TV star Dai Henwood bid a tearful farewell to his father, renowned actor Ray Henwood who died last week.
‘‘Dad, I know that you were proud of me, and as a son that means a lot.
‘‘I am proud of you and I have always looked up to you.
‘‘I am grateful for the pies and the coffees we shared.
‘‘I love you Dad, and you rest amongst the stars. Goodbye,’’ a teary Dai Henwood said.
In one of the lighter moments, he told how the funeral was organised by a man called Simon Manning. He then apologised to former Warriors’ captain Simon Mannering ‘‘for all of the emails you have got about my Dad’s funeral over the past week’’.
Many of Dai Henwood’s 7 Days colleagues were at the service, including Jeremy Corbett and Paul Ego. Ben Hurley was also one of six pallbearers.
‘‘It is quite a good house – they have opened up the dress circle,’’ long-time colleague and friend Colin Mccoll told Henwood’s casket.
The good, the great and the eccentric turned out to celebrate 82-year-old Ray ’s life, a man who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film and theatre in 2006.
With parliamentarians in attendance, Ray’s wife of 50 years, Judge Carolyn Henwood, made a pointed joke about the lack of government funding for the arts, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd.