Family mourns young chef – ‘Look out, angels’
A 25-year-old Invercargill woman who died following a crash last month has been described as having a big sense of humour and an even bigger heart by her family.
Nigel Murch said his step-daughter Tammi Murch had always referred to him as ‘‘Dad One’’, as he had brought her up since she was 2 years old.
When Tammi turned 18, she formally changed her surname to Murch to honour their relationship.
Tammi Murch was involved in a three-car crash on State Highway 1 at Lovells Flat, near Milton, on April 13. She was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition but died on April 20.
She was driving her silver Suzuki Swift at the time.
She had been gutted when she could not get the car in bright yellow, as she planned to call it ‘‘Minion’’ after her favourite fictional creatures from the Despicable Me movie franchise, Nigel Murch said. ‘‘She was obsessed with [the] Minions.’’
Known as Tim-Tam to her loved ones, Tammi was known for being a giving person, wanting to be friends with everyone, and never discriminating against others, her family said.
Tammi Murch has been part of the Invercargill Licensing Trust (ILT) family since 2014. She worked at the trustowned Kelvin Hotel while studying to be a chef at the Southern Institute of Technology, before moving on to the Northern Tavern, also known as the Saucy Chef, where she had worked for the past 3 1⁄2 years.
Last year, when the country was going into lockdown, the first thing Tammi did was bring home all the leftover food from the Saucy Chef, he said.
She had planned to make food packages for people in the neighbourhood and older family members, who would have trouble going to the supermarket, he said.
‘‘She just wanted to make sure they were fed and not at risk.’’
Tammi was still giving, even after her death, he said. When she first went in to get her driver’s licence, she was adamant about becoming an organ donor. Nigel remembers her saying, ‘‘I’ll have no use for anything,’’ at the time.
Her organ donations had helped more than five people, her mother, Christine, said. ‘‘The only thing she didn’t donate was her eyes, because I couldn’t do that.’’
Nigel and Christine said they wanted to live by Tammi’s example.
‘‘Look out, angels out there – Tammi’s moved in,’’ Nigel said.
ILT chief executive Chris Ramsey said Tammi was a very well liked, hardworking and loyal staff member.
‘‘We were devastated to learn of her tragic accident, and our thoughts go out to Tammi’s family, friends and workmates,’’ Ramsey said.