You may remember about two years ago a request was made for information on the 1936 Chevrolet Hearse owned by the Martinborough Undertakers Boyd & Son of Kitchener Street.
Someone out there read the item & put Howard (the current owner) in touch with a daughter of one of the Undertakers. Several very helpful conversations took place & Howard had put in countless hours restoring this vehicle before disaster struck.
Howard grazed his left arm when visiting a friend in July 2012. He realised things were not good when he suffered flu like symptoms a couple of days later. I’m not sure of the exact sequence of events but very soon Howard was in Waikato Hospital with a seriously infected arm. So bad was the infection that to save Howard’s life his left arm was removed at the shoulder.
This has not stopped Howard working on his project as can be seen in the photos taken when we saw the vehicle in December 2012. It was almost ready to go for its WOF and other final checks before being allowed on the road and it also needed some final touches to its upholstery.
Howard is documenting the restoration and to make the story complete would dearly love to have a photo of the hearse when it was earning its living as a hearse. So please everyone who has lived in Martinborough in the 1950’s look through your photos just in case you have a photo of this hearse.
Although Howard promised to bring the hearse to Martinborough when complete he will not be able to do so himself as he can only drive cars with automatic not crash gear boxes. However I hear he has friends who will give their eye teeth to help Howard keep his promise.
Howard can be contacted on 027 750 3690 or 07 888 7596
or by email on DiannePorteous@xtra.co.nz
