Drowned woman loved to help others, says close friend
A New Zealand woman who drowned in Thailand is remembered as a “vibrant and quirky personality” by a close friend.
Renee Joy Hodgkinson was found floating off Phi Phi island on January 4 after she decided not to continue on with her tour group after they visited the area.
The 24-year-old was found in Lo Dalum Bay by a Burmese worker on a boat, who notified police.
Yesterday, friend Jaime Kruijer paid tribute to Hodgkinson, her close friend for five years.
“Renee had this vibrant and quirky personality that made a lasting impression on the ones she met,” Kruijer told the Herald.
“A favourite memory is when I offered her to have one marshmallow from my bag of fist-sized marshmallows. I come back 10 minutes later and she has placed the whole bag in the oven to roast.
“The oven is smoking and the whole lot is burned to charcoal.
“She was very intelligent but always doing blond things like this.”
The pair met while training and working together in the New Zealand Army.
Hodgkinson spent some of her time volunteering for counselling and support service Youthline, as well as St John ambulance. “She was always keeping busy,” Kruijer said. “She enjoyed the reward from helping others. She volunteered for Youthline for about a year and she was working on the phone lines. She volunteered for St John for roughly two years. “She will be greatly missed.” Hodgkinson’s family released an emotional statement through police, saying their world had been “shattered” by the death of their “precious and beloved daughter”.
“Since then, we have been supported by friends and family, but we are still coming to terms with this most devastating of news and it is fair to say that the healing process will be long and arduous.
“We still do not know the full details around Renee’s passing.”
A hospital examination showed no signs of violence and the doctor ruled the cause of death was drowning.
Renee had this vibrant and quirky personality that made a lasting impression on the ones she met. Jaime Kruijer