Chance find links fire victim with old love and new family
The chance finding of a decades-old wedding photograph is reuniting a woman with moments she thought were lost forever and connecting her with family she never knew she had.
Naomi Jensen, 87, lost a lifetime of souvenirs when the building she lived in burned to the ground on October 13 in Sanson.
She and late husband Ron had lived in the home for decades, running businesses and raising their children, before settling into retirement, surrounded by trinkets and photographs of their life together.
Most of them turned to ash in the blaze but 500 kilometres away in Auckland a discovery was about to be made.
When Mt Albert man David Simpson was clearing out belongings under his late mother-in-law’s house, he found an old railway chest of family photographs with the name Jensen inscribed on the back.
‘‘I knew most of these photos were from the Manawatu¯ area, where my wife’s family originates, and lo and behold, this article comes up about the woman whose house burnt down.
‘‘I recognised her instantly from the woman in the wedding photo.’’
Simpson was shocked to learn through Stuff articles and a Givealittle page that Jensen had lost her treasures in the inferno. He contacted Jensen’s niece and the family connection began to unfold. They discovered that his wife Prue’s great-grandfather’s sister’s son was Naomi’s late husband.
The Simpsons had photo collections of Ron Jensen’s early years and from his life with Naomi. ‘‘We don’t know the family from a bar of soap, and now it turns out we are related to them and have their wedding photos.
‘‘Turns out my wife’s greatgrandfather was at the wedding about 1964. I really want to return them.’’
Simpson has sent scans to his newfound family in Manawatu¯ which they intend to surprise Naomi Jensen with today.
The Simpsons plan to visit Jensen in the coming weeks to hand deliver the photos in person and to meet their no-longer-distant relatives.
‘‘It is quite special as well because we have made contact with family that we would never have known,’’ David Simpson said.
‘‘And it is amazing really that [the photos] survived. I do not know how long they were under the house.’’
Jensen’s son, Gordon, was thrilled to hear original copies of his mother’s photos had survived.
The family has been working to collate salvageable photographs from the fire and images other family had tucked away to replace his mother’s lost mementos.
‘‘They all got burned and sodden and the plastic melted to them but some of them I was able to take a photo of ones that were recognisable.
‘‘We are really fortunate a niece of mine had a whole lot of photos and rustled through them for Mum.’’