Skier, sailor and a wine connoisseur
b June 25, 1939, in Wanganui d October 23, 2019, aged 80.
Annie’s Wine Bar owner Rosemary Anne Edmond, better known as Annie, devoted her life to her family, friends and her business. While she was mostly known for her wine bar and restaurant in the Christchurch Arts Centre, Edmond lived an adventurous life full of trips, usually involving skiing or sailing. Also a keen golfer, one of Edmond’s highlights was the hole-in-one she made at Coringa golf course.
Edmond enjoyed wine and hospitality. Her eldest son, Neil, said this was due to the friends she made along the way. ‘‘Annie obviously enjoyed wine but I think her passion for it stemmed from the company of friends it provided. She always had beautiful wines in her cellar and shared them with visitors,’’ he said.
‘‘My most cherished time with Annie was visiting at the end of the day, enjoying a fine pinot noir and talking about whatever we felt like. She was a great conversationalist and never shied from a little stirring.’’
Her daughter, Genevieve O’Reilly, said she always lived life to the fullest and never let fear get in her way. ‘‘Annie’s Wine bar is the perfect example,’’ she said.
‘‘To be a 54-year-old woman with no business experience and say ‘there’s no wine bar in Christchurch so I’m going to make one’ spoke to her bravery. She knew what she was good at, which was hosting people, and she knew she loved it. That was all that mattered to her.
‘‘In my eulogy for Annie, I opened with an Eleanor Roosevelt quote which I felt summed her up quite well: ‘A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.’’’
Edmond died on October 23, 2019, from cancer. The 80-year-old had been diagnosed with the disease five years earlier.
Edmond’s involvement in the community was significant. In her Dunedin days, she was a secretary for St John’s parish, the National Flying Fifteen Association and the Southern Districts Ski Association. She also delivered for Meals on Wheels. ‘‘She wanted to be involved, to contribute and make a difference,’’ Neil said.
Edmond’s youngest son, Ian, said she had a ‘‘why not’’ attitude to life that he was inspired by. ‘‘What a lot of people said about Annie was her generosity and keenness for life,’’ he said.
‘‘She went to university as an adult to do drama. One of the things in the class was a workshop where you had to say ‘yes, let’s’ to every suggestion. That summed up her attitude towards life.
‘‘’Yes, let’s’ would be something she would say often. I’ve taken that on and been inspired by that one to be honest, it’s a really good mantra to have I think. ‘Why not? Yes, let’s’.’’
As a child, Edmond’s school holidays were spent on Mt Ruapehu and she enjoyed many sociable times at the Wanganui Ski Club. She became a very good skier and won gold medals at New Zealand championships, the Australian university championships and represented New Zealand in both Australia and Europe.
With her passion for skiing and the mountains it’s no surprise she taught her children to ski early on, when they turned five.
Ian said his mother’s love for skiing continued throughout her life. ‘‘She was very active in masters ski racing both in New Zealand and overseas. During her 70s she made yearly trips to Canada and North America where she was a highly respected part of the masters scene.’’
She met her husband, Leatham, at the Bachelornauts ball in Dunedin. It was about 1961 and the Russians had just put an astronaut into space.
The couple married in Little River in 1964 and settled in Macandrew Bay, 15 minutes drive down the peninsula from Leatham’s hometown of Dunedin.
They had three children: Neil, Ian and Genevieve.
Leatham was a keen sailor and Annie realised early on that if she didn’t learn to sail she wouldn’t be seeing much of her husband.
She took up as his crew and they sailed Flying Fifteens together for 20 years until his death in 1990. Both were fiercely competitive and, despite Edmond being small for a crew, they never finished out of the top seven at the national championships. They also represented New Zealand at four world championships.
‘‘She relished taking the helm after Leatham’s departure and enjoyed causing havoc amongst the fleet,’’ Ian said.
Edmond is survived by her three children, two children-in-law and eight grandchildren. – By Jake Kenny