Family and friends have farewelled a long-serving Police employee and dedicated – and award-winning - volunteer who has died after a lengthy illness.
Dorothy Lomas, who joined Police in 1997 as Secretary to the Executive, held personal assistant and support roles in a variety of workgroups.
After retiring in 2012 she remained active with Neighbourhood Support New Zealand (NSNZ) and continued to help Police.
She died on 15 October, aged 76. Police staff past and present were among mourners at her funeral in Johnsonville last week.
Retired Superintendent Stu Wildon said Dorothy was trustworthy, loyal and caring – with a wicked sense of humour behind a sometimes stern countenance.
He worked with her from 1999, when she was Secretary to the Executive and he had roles on the Executive floor at Police National Headquarters (PNHQ). Later, when he was National Manager of the International Service Group, Dorothy was on his team.
“When I joined that group, Dorothy was in full swing and was the ‘go-to person’,” he said.
“If you wanted to know what was going on, you’d ask Dorothy. She also had all the contacts with the Executive and she could make things happen.”
Stu said Dorothy always saw opportunities to help others. “They included going to great lengths to organise the collection of teddy bears for children in Afghanistan, and books for children and bras for women in Pacific nations.
“All these activities took a fair deal of time and effort, which Dorothy gave willingly.”
Dorothy’s other roles - many voluntary - included chairing the PNHQ Women’s Support Network, a key role in restructuring after the Martin Review, and organising conferences and children’s Christmas parties. She was also a stalwart of the Inner Wheel organisation in Tawa.
“The common feature was her good organising skills and a personal desire to do the job properly.”
In 2014, as a volunteer, she helped organise a reunion marking the 50th anniversary of New Zealand Police’s involvement in Cyprus.
“On my behalf Dorothy took the lead and it was a huge success,” said Stu. “Her approach was always to do a job properly and get it right first time.”
At the funeral Stu read a tribute from former Commissioner Peter Marshall, who had Dorothy as his PA when he was an Assistant Commissioner.
He wrote that ‘Mrs D’ was a very special person, was committed to his wellbeing and had helped him on his journey to Commissioner.
“Dorothy was very efficient and we got on like a house on fire,” wrote Peter from the Cook Islands, where he is New Zealand’s High Commissioner.
“Above all, she was very caring and there is no question that she had a heart of gold. Nothing was too much trouble for her.”
In 2013, as NSNZ National Secretary and longest-serving member of the NSNZ executive, Dorothy was awarded a Minister’s Public Safety Award, presented by the then-Minister of Police during National Volunteer Awareness Week.
Roger Eynon, former NSNZ CEO, based at PNHQ, said Dorothy had “the wisdom of an owl, the cunning of a fox and the grip of Rottweiler”.
“I had the utmost confidence in Dorothy,” he said. “She was diligent, thoughtful, shrewd, clear-sighted and forward-thinking. She was also extremely humble.
“Dorothy supported, contributed and pushed the organisation to achieve challenging objectives. Many simply didn’t realise what she did and how tenacious she was.
“I was privileged to have worked alongside her for five years. She was a colleague, a confidante, a protector - but most importantly, she was my friend.”
Dorothy is survived by husband Ray, daughters Julie and Sue and three grandchildren.