A special promise fulfilled

As Kathy Davy’s hair was being shaved off she knew her late brother-in-law would be looking down laughing.

The Strathmore School teacher-aide followed through with a promise she’d given her brother-in-law, Alfred Davy, before he died from cancer recently by shaving her head to raise money for Tokoroa Hospice. The day would have been his 60th birthday.

‘‘I have been helping deliver equipment with Hospice for a number of years but sometimes we do run short so I said to Alfred, the last time he was in hospital, that if he got out on his 60th birthday I would shave my head to raise money for more equipment,’’ she said.

‘‘He was trying to be here for that birthday, he kept saying he was going to be, so it was more or less to celebrate his birthday even though he could not be here. He would have been looking down laughing.’’

But to everyone’s surprise Kathy was not the only one that ended up getting shaved during the Tokoroa Cosmopolitan Club hosted event.

In an unplanned move, fellow club members Phil Chettleburg, Jamie Kedall, Gavin Tai, John Cruickshank, and Alfred’s brother Pete Davy also lost their locks. ‘‘It was the first time anyone but me has used clippers on my head in 10 years,’’ Pete said.

Kathy said the surprise move would have shocked Alfred who she said ‘‘never put himself out there in anyone’s face’’.

‘‘They all did it for our local Hospice because the money was staying in the town,’’ she said.

‘‘Alfred never would have expected it. Had he been alive he would have been blown away and so rapt’ that people thought to do that.’’ The shave raised over $2000. ‘‘One of the kids at school said ‘Hey miss you have a kina (short and spiky haircut)’ and then he asked why so I told the kids it was to raise money for cancer which they thought was pretty cool,’’ she said.

‘‘I’ve been given two wigs by people that had cancer who said they’d be honoured if I wore them. I will when I go out but I think it is really great for kids to see and ask question about so they are aware that if they have a family member with cancer who loses their hair it is nothing to be scared of, they are still the same person.’’