My amazing mother Maureen, VMM McMonagle.

Died 28 January 2017, in Hamilton.

My Mother, Maureen Krippner, VMM McMonagle.

I have always thought it cool that Mama had 3 names, Veronica, Mary, and was referred to her third name, Maureen.   

Mama taught me the usual stuff... how to pan for gold, get tucker from the bush, skin a rabbit, and put a tattoo in a cow's ear.  All the essential skills for a modern woman.

Maureen was born on 1 April, 1934, the third child of Edward Krippner and Agnes Karl.  She grew up in Te Rore on a farm with her brothers and sister, John, Franz, Agnes, and Michael. They were part of a wider Krippner whanau in the area and that close extended family continues on today.

Her childhood was much different from ours today, no computers, no Internet, no TV, a bicycle for transport. It took all afternoon to bike to Pirongia for an ice cream. Her favourite colour was yellow, like the sunflowers. She played cards and checkers in the evenings, or read books.  Her primary school years were spent at Te Rore.  For her secondary education, she boarded in Hamilton, attended Sacred Heart Girls College until she was 14, and then left school, at Fourth Form or year 10 now.

At 16, Maureen’s first job was looking after the Field children while Mrs Rose Field had a baby.  Then she was with the Monahans and the Mandenos.  She also milked the cows with her father, and helped her mother with bottling, jam and baking.

Every month, there were social dances in Te Awamutu. Her brothers John and Franz used to take her, in her Uncle Percy’s car, the 'bomb' Dodge.  There was supper, 'bring a plate' and home before midnight.  Mama enjoyed the 3 Step Polonaise, because you changed your partner each time.  She met a tall man named Carl McMonagle, at one of these Socials.  He had a motorcycle which she didn’t really like, but that didn’t get in the way of their romance and they were married in 1956.

That same year they were share milking on Puketarata Rd for the Wilsons, then 2 years later they were on the home farm at Te Rore, moving into their own house in 1959 and taking over the Anderson farm in 1962. Their first milk was sent by tanker in 1964.  They also raised and sold pigs. Another 90 acres was leased from the Rices and later on in 1979 they purchased 18 acres from Hancocks; Tess milked there. In 1983 they increased their operation with the leasing of the Bridson’s property with Joe running that from 1983. Carl died from bowel cancer in 1986 and Maureen continued on farming with sharemilkers to help her, first with her daughter Maureen and Paul and then with son Carl and Michele. Haymaking was a family affair. I am sure most of the grandchildren would have helped to roll the haybales into rows.

I have all these dates at my fingertips thanks to the record Mama kept of important events, and I must say some of us children were a bit disgruntled that there is absolutely no mention of the birth of any of her 11 children, 31 grandchildren or 5 great grandies. Surely we have to be the most important things in the world to her, I mean that is what she always said. And Mama said and did a lot of things in her 82 years – she was so energetic, enthusiastic, encouraging and all for getting out there and doing things in life.

From the outside, we might look like a close family, but we have always been divided. – the big kids , and the little kids. No matter how hard Mama tried, the divide was always there.  Her philosophy for family life was, bring up your children in a loving family, with rules to follow, plenty of outdoor activity, caring for each other, and helping each other so they learn how to do things.  A lot of women tell psychiatrists, that they have a voice in their heads from their mother saying “don’t do this, you can’t do that”. Well, not us. Our mother was always encouraging with us, telling us, “yes you can, get out and do it”. She expected us to be involved in clubs, excursions and community things. She was an incredible role model with the things she was up to.

Climb every mountain, perhaps was her motto.  As a teenager, she climbed Mt Ruapehu. She thought it was the most adventurous thing she did growing up. We all have climbed so many of New Zealand’s mountains with her. In 1999, Mama walked the Milford track and continued to cross off the other Great Walks. When I asked the whanau about which ones they shared with Nana, all New Zealand’ s famous walks featured, as well as the majority of the National Parks.  She made her male grandchildren climb Mt Ruapehu, the day after doing the Tongariro Crossing.   When she climbed Mt Taranaki (that was with Carl when she was 67), she wondered what the hell she was doing, one step up, three steps sliding back in the scree. The view from the top was worth it she said. I don’t know how many times we have walked across Mt Pirongia. One time we went up the mountain at night, to see the glow worms next to the stream.  It was dark in the forest, and a small young boy named Quinn said, “the Glowworms scared the scariness away”.

It wasn’t just mountains.  Water was another great attraction-.  Streams, waterfalls, rivers, beaches, and entire coastlines. She has walked the beach from Aotea harbour to hot water beach at Kawhia, and she the loved the Kai Moana.  Mama would ring and say the tide is good, are you coming over?.  The whanau would drive out to Ruapuke, near Raglan.  Armed with firewood, and buckets,  we would collect the mussels from the rocks.  Mama would light a bonfire, and the mussels would get cooked and eaten there on the beach. She said they tasted best that way.

I am sure Mama has explored all of New Zealand.  Over the years she has completed five trips around the South Island, discovering new places and experiences. She always challenged the grandchildren to race her to the top of the BIG hills. I have been fortunate to share in some of her adventures, especially down the South Island. I remember flying to Queenstown and meeting up with her.  She taught Gina how to pan for gold. We explored around Wanaka and Cromwell, and the rental car suffered from afraidium, as we drove up the hilly gravel roads . Those roads were so rough, the windscreen wipers would come on by themselves in the shaking car.

Mama enjoyed going bush, especially the Summer camp life at Pureroa Forest Park with the grandchildren.  Exploring the bush by foot or by quad bike was always a highlight, helping the grandchildren find cave wetas, blue ducks, giant spiders, and native birds.

But closer to home, Mt Pirongia was the best place on earth for Mama. She would get so excited if it snowed on Mt Pirongia. Often she would go up Te Tahi Rd track by herself, because it was a fine day and she'd be able to see all the way down to the volcanic plateau and the snow on Mt Ruapehu.  Or she would be up some other track to look at some plants that would be flowering. She loved natives and she was forever getting us kids to climb the maunga and appreciate its treasures which I am sure has rubbed off on all of us.

Mama was undeniably an animal lover and as a dairy farmer, cows were an important part of that. Dad and her believed a pedigree Milking Shorthorn herd best suited the rolling hills of Te Rore and they set about showing their animals and herd testing. They were really successful, winning Champion Cow at the 1975 Hamilton Royal Show with Leprechaun Dell Norma, Supreme Champion cow at the 1976 Palmerston North Royal Show with Leprechaun Dell Frills and taking out the Top Milking Shorthorn Cow for production in 1978 with Leprechaun Dell Nelly who was also the 1976 Auckland Easter Show Champion Cow and 1978 North Island Champion Cow. All the cows on the farm were named and we had some choice ones thanks to Mama; Frills, Nellie, Norma, Witch, Buttercup, and Silly Sausage to  name a few.  Even the bulls did not escape this treatment. Poor Drongo.

As well as the usual collection of farm animals, Mama also had Donkeys, and Toby was a favorite. For several years, Toby was the lead part in the Te Awamutu Anglican Easter celebrations. The Catholics wanted Toby for their Easter Celebrations too, but as the Anglicans asked first, so Toby went there, Mama was democratic like that.

Maureen would have to be described as a cat person through and through. All us kids can still hear her calling ‘kitties’ as she was feeding her beloved cats and having a cat purring in bed with her was as close to heaven as she could get. One of our cats was called Popcorn, naturally because she was fluffy, white & black. Gerard had brought her home from St Johns in his shirt and he did that because Mama had taught us to love animals and he knew Mama would not turn her away. We brought cats to her when she was in hospital and you should have seen her face light up. In fact any animal was a sure-fire success to bring along on a hospital visit to her, whether it be a lamb, ducklings, cockatiels or even the biting Charlie Brown.

  

Her vegetable and fruit growing skills were impressive. It was nothing out of the ordinary for her to be feeding her entire family from her garden. The crops included asparagus, beetroot, peas, carrots parsnips, redih, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, brocolli, 3 different variety of beans, onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, silverbeet, cauliflower, zucchini, watercress, sweetcorn, pumpking, orange marrow, butternut, buttercup, rockmelon, cucumber, potatoes, kiwianas, kumera, peanuts, strawberries, rhybarb, and celery. Nestled amongst this bounty, were her herbs, mint, peppermint, thyme, sage, parsley, basil, lemon balm and oregano. Dotted around the property were oranges, lemonade, manderine, red currents, plums, banana, loquats, feijoas, persimmons, figs, guavas, kiwifruit, prunes, tamarillos and passionfruit. There were also the macadamias, chestnuts, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts. She enjoyed trying to outdo her brother John at winning the points prize for produce at the Te Rore Flower Show.

Mama never wasted anything. The fruit was bottled, tomatoes made into relish, and apple pies baked, and the berries made into jam. Her red current jelly was amazing. I think most of the grandchildren have learnt the valuable life skill, of how to peel a hot Chestnut, as well as knowing the right amount of force to hit the macadamia nut, with the rock, on Nana’s verandah.

Mama had a creation centered spirituality.  She would marvel at the amazing workmanship, of a birds nest, make us look closely at a bug, or how the frost made crystal eruptions in the soil. And fire, we have to mention fire, especially the need to light a fire for any reason! Mama would build huge fires.  She always had something ready to burn.  She moaned about having to get fire permits, and when there was a fire ban, she would build fire piles, ready to be lit in Autumn. This pyromaniac practise has been passed onto her children and grandchildren.  I remember her telling me about a time she was in the milking shed, and just happened to look towards the house 50m down the road.  A bright thin flame was shooting straight up, metres high above the roofline. She was never sure which child it was that day, experimenting with petrol and fire, but us children know the likely suspects.

Mama’s grandparents came from Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.  Mama taught herself how to play the accordion, and continued the Bohemian legacy of her grandparents, of musik and dancing.  She got together with Tom Krippner, and Margaret Krippner, who were also accordion players.  They provided musik in rest homes, rose gardens, Te Rore socials, and family gatherings. She had the ability to just hear a tune and then play it from memory on the piano or accordian.   Any chance she got, she would be encouraging her children and grandchildren to develop their music interests too.

It goes without saying that her grandchildren and great grandchildren were the apple of her eye. If you lived close by, she would come around and celebrate your birthday with you, otherwise you would get a phone call.  Sometimes we would gather at her house for the occasion. She would try to squeeze as many grandkids as possible, onto the pew behind the dining table.  And the table would be a conglomeration of different treats she had made, like apple cider, Russian fudge, pickled walnuts and roasted macadamias.

She was always trying new foods, new recipes, new ways of doing things. She loved learning, was really strong on New Zealand history, especially the local history, and was always interested in the world. We would have lively discussions on the paradigm shifts in relation to geo-political events.  I wonder what she would of thought of the first week of Donald Trump’s Presidency.

Now Mother would have us believe that she never put a foot wrong. When asked what was the worst trouble she had got herself into when she was younger, she was shocked.  “I was always a little angel, “she claimed, and for some reason we found this hard to swallow. It was this tendency of hers, to delight in using light fingers to bring home with her cuttings of plants, pinecones and tasty tidbits on her outings. She always maintained she was liberating them, and that the green grape cuttings she smuggled in from the South Island, was the only thing she had ever stolen.

Mama suffered two serious strokes in 2012 and she ended up in hospital care after that. It was tough for such an active person but Mama’s personality continued to shine through. The family wants to thank all those who supported and cared for Mama during those last years and a special thank you to Leon who visited her practically every night.

Maureen was an extremely generous, supporting and encouraging woman, held in high regard, with much love and affection.  Your being here today is testament to that. She may have devoted her life to being a mother and a person of the earth, leading a humble life without glamour and doing without many of the niceties of life. But we, her children are infinitely grateful to her for that huge heart she had for all of us, and the beautiful way she showed us how to live life to the full.