Life dedicated to education, serving the community, family
DON WAUGH was a highly respected educator, committed to his community and devoted to his family.
Donald Ford Waugh was born on August 28, 1932, in Balclutha to Frank and Mary Waugh, farmers on Inch Clutha. Don, along with brothers James, Arthur and Alistair, grew up as a quintessential South Otago bloke.
As a child, the education Don didn’t receive at the farm was gained from Stirling Primary School then South Otago High School, an institution he would later return to as rector.
Don studied for a bachelor of arts and master’s in music at the University of Otago,where he met his future wife, Angela (nee Grater); she was the sister of one of his housemates at Arana College. He proposed to her on the steps of the university clock tower.
It is not an exaggeration to say Don dedicated his life to the education and service of others.
He spent his 20s and early
30s taking up various teaching posts across New Zealand, including in Whakatane, Putaruru and as head of English at Kaikorai Valley High School, before he became principal of Pleasant Point High School at the age of 38. He lived there for six years before taking up the rectorship at South Otago
High School in 1976.
During his time as a leader in education, he was twice awarded the prestigious Woolf Fisher Scholarship, which allowed him to travel overseas investigating the latest educational and pedagogical practices.
He led South Otago High School until 1992, when he retired, but he remained a pillar of the Balclutha community until his death, aged 87, on November 19 last year.
A gifted musician, Don arguably discovered his love of music through his mother, who played the piano. He began music lessons when he was 5 and was playing Chopin by the time he was at high school, achieving his ATCL and LTCL while still a schoolboy.
Many of the Balclutha community would have heard Don play the piano at some point in their lifetime, whether it was playing the organ in church as a boy, leading the assemblies at high school or accompanying and conducting the Phoenix Singers’ performances.
A capable sportsman who enjoyed tennis, rugby and basketball, he was awarded a university blue in basketball and went on to coach both school rugby and basketball for the majority of his teaching career.
Angela was also a teacher and they were both dedicated, passionate and active members of the community.
A keen gardener, Don was renowned for having beautiful roses and if you were lucky, you might just find a haul of tomatoes, potatoes and cucumbers on your doorstep.
His daughters all remember him as someone who was a generous family man, devoted to his community and a selfless leader. Don was a member of Rotary since he joined the Timaru North branch during his time at Pleasant Point.
He delivered the Rotaryorganised telephone books around South Otago until he was well into his 80s, although he did comment that each year the books got smaller and smaller as companies moved online.
Don was awarded the Paul
Harris Fellowship for Service and Leadership for his work with Rotary and was an active member in the group and a regular attendee, as well as helping out at special events such as the Rotary Book Sale.
He was also a member of Probus and did a stint as president in 1994. For a time, he was editor of the bulletin, taking on each role for four years, which is the time cap on the roles. He regularly delivered meals on wheels and every week he would read the newspaper over the phone as part of the Reading for the Blind programme. He was also a patron of both the South Otago High expupils association and the South Otago Theatrical Society. (SOTS).
He was the secretary of the local IHC from 1994 to 2015. As a teacher, he worked a lot with children requiring special assistance and so he knew the value organisations like IHC brought to the community.
Don also served on the board at Telford, the agricultural polytechnic, from 1996 to 2010.
He was involved with the resource centre, Enterprise Clutha, for the same period.
He worked with the Life Education Trust from 1998 to 2013, travelling around schools every year, booking them in to see the beloved Harold the Giraffe and making sure things were all running smoothly.
His involvement in the community and across the various community groups meant many people were lucky enough to experience the effects of his volunteer efforts. Just ask anyone who was on his meals on wheels run — head office soon heard about it if the meals were wrongly labelled.
Don was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in 2006 for services to education and community. He was awarded a Kiwibank Local Hero Medal in 2019 but sadly died before it could be officially awarded.
Don is survived by his three daughters, eight grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. He is sorely missed, and his legacy remains in those whose lives he impacted. — Supplied