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Former Rodney midwife Glenn Hoare. Right, Glenn Hoare with great grandson Chance Breading.
A memorial service will be held at the Presbyterian Church, Centreway Road, Orewa, on Saturday, March 20, to celebrate the life of former Rodney midwife Glenn Hoare.
Mrs Hoare, who more recently was a resident on the Hibiscus Coast, died during the first Covid lockdown last year when gatherings for funerals were banned. Her daughter April Breading says the family decided to hold the memorial on the first anniversary of her death.
After finishing her nursing training at Greenlane Hospital in 1955, Mrs Hoare worked at Helensville Hospital before completing her maternity training in Auckland in the early 1970s.
She was the principal nurse at the Helensville Hospital for 13 years and was instrumental in forming the Helensville Birthing Centre when the hospital closed in 1989.
Glenn and husband George, who farmed at Parakai, moved to Sandspit at the end of 1989.
When the Warkworth Hospital closed in 1992, she helped local midwives transition to independent midwives. She joined Sally Wilson, Sue Wynyard and Jan Thompson as part of Rodney Coast Midwives, which formed in 1995.
She also helped setup the Wellsford Birthing Unit and delivered the first baby there.
Glenn was a foundation home birther and water birth advocate. She delivered her youngest grandson at Waikato Hospital, great nieces at Helensville and many of her children’s friends at Helensville.
April says her mother was dedicated to the midwifery profession.
“She was loved by mothers and fathers all around the Rodney district,” April says. “She couldn’t go anywhere without being recognised and hugged and thanked by appreciative mothers, grandmothers, fathers and sisters.
“As well as being a devoted nurse, wife and mother, Mum adored singing, gardening, sewing and boating. She touched so many lives with her kindness and sense of fun, and definitely left the world a much better place.”
Mrs Hoare and her husband George had two children, April and Christopher, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. George died in 2007.
The memorial service starts at 11am. All welcome.
