Jonk described Eastment as an avid traveller and said she had different jobs all around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe adored her mother and took her everywhere. She stood up for the minority and could not deal with injustice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Jonk\u2019s wife, Petra Bos, said Eastment had a \u201cbig heart\u201d for animals. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew her as a sparkling, eccentric woman. She was intelligent and had some pretty interesting stories [to tell],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sad that we will never see or speak to her again.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Eastment\u2019s NZ friends, Tony Jacques, described \u201cMarcia\u201d as a \u201cbusybody\u201d with a thick Dutch accent, who went out of her way to help people. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was unbelievable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jacques had volunteered at the NZ Timber Museum in Put\u0101ruru for more than two decades, when one day; \u201cMarcia just hopped along and offered her help\u201d.<\/p>\n
They volunteered together for about eight years, with Eastment being a \u201cvery important volunteer at a time when we needed it the most\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was always on demand and ready to help out, just rushing from here to there, and we\u2019d talk for hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe museum wouldn\u2019t have functioned without her over that period of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another of Eastment\u2019s friends, Adrienne Bell, echoed Jacques\u2019 sentiments. Bell was a council member when she met Eastment in 2010 while overseeing museum redevelopments.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcia became quite invaluable to the museum,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bell said when Eastment came to the museum, she brought \u201cboxes and boxes of books\u201d along, which she stored at the museum.<\/p>\n
Martje Gezina Eastment was known to her loved ones as ‘Marcia’, before she passed away on August 16. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she instilled herself with her books, she could relieve the staff in the office, run events, and guide tours. She brought everyone donuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just fell in anywhere … [and] got to know lots of people there.\u201d <\/p>\n
Bell said Eastment was a generous person. A few years ago, Bell told Eastment she was considering buying a dehumidifier.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext thing, she brings me these two things that weighed a ton.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve still got them sitting here as my memorial to Marcia,\u201d she laughingly said.<\/p>\n
Bell believed Eastment would leave a big hole in the local community as she was a \u201cpresence around town\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d always say, \u2018Put\u0101ruru is my family\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was very gregarious, well-known, and loved. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was what you would call a great big character that everyone knew and was fond of in Put\u0101ruru. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was visible, vibrant, and was just larger than life.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Bell, Eastment did not want a funeral, so nothing had been planned at this stage.<\/p>\n
The day of the crash<\/p>\n