Tribute to a brother - Tighe

I’m soo lucky Tighe chose me as a sister as every moment with him was unexpected, random, quizzical, entertaining and never dull. 

Whenever you were with Tighe you would have a smile on your face as he bought so much joy to everyone around him. 

There were many sides to Tighe. 

There were his fascinations with the most random topics that my family have mentioned before. 

There was the caring side of Tighe where you could speak to him about anything and everything and he would always see the light in any situation. 

There was the mechanical hardworking side of Tighe where when he put his mind to something he would give it 150%. I’ll always cheerish the time he came over to Whakatane and he did welding with Sam - something I definitely couldn’t teach him. 

And then there was his love for animals which really showed his caring and empathic side.Being 10 years older than Tighe I always seemed to slip into a bit of an over protective big sister role. 

But hearing the stories his friends have shared over the past few days it definitely sounds like he got up to plenty of mischief. 

I’m so glad he got out and enjoyed the world in his short 17 years. 

His friends meant everything to him and thank you to each and every one of you for letting him be his quirky self and embracing everything that was Tighe. 

I’ve honestly learnt more about Tighe in the last few days than in the last few years and I’m grateful to guys for sharing these stories with me and my family. 

Your love and support has not gone unnoticed and I’m just soo happy that you guys were such a large part of his life. 

He was so pure and as Sam would put it - he saw through face value bullshit and just appreciated people for who they were. A very rare trait in people these days. 

I’m soo proud of him for finding his feet in the last few years and really growing into a cool young man. 

He had some bold dreams for the future and I was excited to see him achieve these. 

Flannel shirts and Jursssic Park beanies aside, when he dressed up he really did look a million bucks, and although he would say he’s happy in his ‘comfy clothes’ we all know he loved looking suave too. 

Tighe, I love that you really didn’t care what people thought and you found hobbies and interests that genuinely bought a smile to your face - we couldn’t ask for anything more. 

Our new future is waiting for us and although you won’t be here physically, I know you’ll be by our sides every day - I can’t wait to share some more special moments with you in our new future. 

I’m going to miss you little brother. 

See you soon.  Gina.