A Te Awamutu pharmacist who loved a yarn: Laraine Jessie Willshire: 1951 - 2026

Saturday, 13 June 2026

For Laraine Willshire caring for others was not simply a task or a job to be completed or even purely her profession. Caring was a vocation, a calling, an activity that structured and dominated her life for 37 years. A true servant of her Te Awamutu community, Laraine was a pharmacist with a smile on her face who had time for everybody, razor sharp when it came to dispensing medical advice and prescriptions but equally interested in her customers as human beings. She made people feel important.

Laraine Jessie Hawke was born 9 December, 1951 in Matamata, the second child of Roy Hawke and Grace Hawke (nee Orr). Growing up in the small Waikato settlement of Hinuera, she was an outstanding student, her innate intelligence complemented by a strong work ethic, invariably the top of her classes at Hinuera School. Says Bryce Gurman, childhood friend and neighbour, 'her class work was always neat, impeccable, on time and correct'. Laraine was 'the example that us also-rans were made to aspire to', the girl who 'never, ever' got into trouble.

At the age of 12 Laraine took a part-time job, the initiative a prelude to later entrepreneurial ambition.

Completing her secondary education at Matamata College in 1969, she was the school's Proxime Accessit, second only to Dux. Laraine furthered her studies at the University of Otago, with a definite vocational goal in mind, working toward a Bachelor of Pharmacy. It was while resident in Dunedin that she met John Willshire, whom she married in 1973. John and Laraine would have three children: Chris, Anna and Richard.

In 1989, with the end of her marriage, Laraine returned to the Waikato and set about realising a long held dream: to become a small business owner. The Te Awamutu Pharmacy, situated on Alexandra St, was purchased from Brian Ward. Laraine would continue to own and manage the business for the best part of four decades. Says son Chris, 'she loved being a pharmacist, serving the community and sacrificing much personally so that she lived out her calling'.

It was a considerable workload, running a six-day-a-week business with barely any time off. Whilst Laraine demonstrated ongoing commitment to keeping abreast of significant developments in her professional field, embracing computers and latterly the installation of a pharmacy robot, affectionately named 'Rolly', technology was not her natural strength and paperwork a reluctant chore. Medical knowledge was always the priority, the goal to care for people 'properly'.

With both staff and customers alike, Laraine loved a good yarn, a good laugh and quality conversation, be it about family, cats, gardening, cricket or whatever the activities of those she was conversing with. Almost immune to stress in the workplace, her sense of humour was infectious and her capacity to break up the working day with extended tea breaks or luncheons, patronising local cafes, legendary.

Laraine's dedication to her customers, says one colleague, was 'truly special' and in the case of many families extended across the generations. It was not just about medication, it was about their lives. A three-minute consultation frequently blew out to a thirty minute chat, only concluded when responsibilities in the dispensary required her attention.

Perhaps her greatest professional legacy was the number of employees she mentored over the years. Be these workers, shop staff, technicians or junior pharmacists, all benefited from Laraine's patience, encouragement and willingness to teach. She gave opportunities to many who might not have been given a chance elsewhere and launched untold careers. As an employer she often put her staff's needs above her own and was known for granting time off with empathetic understanding, 'giving people grace when they needed it most'.

Soon after Laraine arrived back in the Waikato she was taken to Te Awamutu Camera Club by Brian Ward. Here she met local farmer Rod Glasson, the man she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. Laraine and Rod would eventually build a house together, one which fully indulged her gardening interests, flowering fauna - lilies, orchids and especially roses - as well as fruit and vegetables.

As she was committed to professional networking, attending pharmacy events, Laraine was equally one to prioritise family gatherings, always impeccably attired, all significant occasions warranting the expansion of her wardrobe. She was an enthusiastic shopper and was renowned for retail excursions and adventures with her mother.

However much she was bound to the pharmacy, Laraine always found time for her family and was a very proud mother and grandmother. Coastal holidays, with Rod and/or her children and grandchildren were particularly enjoyed, visits to Whangamatā and Mt Maunganui, the latter where she and Rod had a beach house, invariably involving a fishing trip or two. Encouraged by son Richard, Laraine would eventually buy a boat of her own.

One favourite fishing memory of Laraine and her younger son predated that acquisition. Taking a chartered boat out of Tauranga, mother and son had purchased and prepared accordingly. When they told a deckhand about how they had boiled and then frozen some tuatua he scoffed, suggesting they had 'ruined' the bait and would catch nothing as a consequence. As things transpired, Laraine and Richard 'outfished the whole boat'.

Laraine enjoyed international travel. One particularly memorable trip saw her and Rod in the United Kingdom and Europe for six weeks. Another involved Laraine and her eldest granddaughter, Brittany, travelling to the USA and the Continent.

Closer to home, Laraine had an abiding interest in New Zealand and local sport, following and actively supporting the Chiefs, the All Blacks and the Black Caps. She and Richard frequently attended Chiefs games together and Laraine took some pleasure in fleetingly appearing on television as part of the crowd at the 2025 Super Rugby final.

Laraine also liked to gamble, with the occasional flutter on 'the GGs' escalating into investment in race horses. An enthusiastic and ever hopeful proponent of blackjack, it was not unusual to see her at the Hamilton casino. Whatever her limited tolerance for late night television, the gaming table often instilled remarkable reserves of energy, especially on those nights when business staff functions saw Te Awamutu abandoned in favour of Sky City.

Laraine's sudden passing, whilst still in charge of the Te Awamutu Pharmacy in her 75th year, saw a vast outpouring of tributes from friends, customers and former staff. Said one simply, '…she was lovely, very helpful and treated me with dignity and respect..a beautiful soul'.

Caring, generous, loving and sociable, Laraine Willshire was a community servant in the best sense of the term, a healthcare advisor and confidant who lent a kind ear to all. Says son Chris, 'she always made time for people, devoted to her profession no matter what was going on in her life at the time, a shoulder to cry on, always there with a kind word when you were down'.

Laraine Jessie Willshire died in Te Awamutu, 8 May, 2026. She is survived by Rod, her partner of 35 years, children Chris, Anna and Richard and granddaughters Brittany, Olivia, Georgia and Isabella.