![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/new-world-stoke-said-dianne-hodson-who-worked-as-its-freezer-63PERQ5E4BF7ZBLSMDVPVBRTEA.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA South Island supermarket has placed the ashes of a long-serving staff member into the foundations of its new store.<\/p>\n
New World Stoke said Dianne Hodson, who worked as its freezer manager for 30 years, was “the heart of the team” and had left a lasting impression on staff and customers alike.<\/p>\n
With the blessing of her family, a small portion of her ashes \u2014 along with her 30-year service badge \u2014 was placed where the store\u2019s new freezer section would stand.<\/p>\n
“It’s a deeply meaningful way for her to remain a part of the place she gave so much of her life to,” the supermarket said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n
Supermarket owner-operator Brendon Rae said Hodson was the “life of the party” and was deeply dedicated to her role.<\/p>\n
“From a professional standpoint, she was extremely passionate and dedicated\u2026 she worked here for 30 years and actually started on work experience,” he told 1News.<\/p>\n
“She biked to work every single day, whether it was rain, hail or shine, from Richmond to Stoke.”<\/p>\n
Warmth and humour<\/p>\n
Rae said Hodson was widely known in the community for her warmth and humour.<\/p>\n
“She was one of the most loyal and caring people you\u2019ve ever met, she had a cheeky sense of humour and just loved to bring joy to the team,” he said.<\/p>\n
“She was one of those people that would always stop and have a chat with a customer. At Christmas time she loved dressing up and handing out ice blocks to kids.”<\/p>\n
Hodson died late last year from Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New World Stoke said Dianne Hodson, who worked as its freezer manager for 30 years, was “the heart of the team”. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
Rae said the idea had been discussed with Hodson before she died and later agreed to by her family.<\/p>\n
“It was such a sad situation, she’d committed so much of her life to the store, 30 years is a long time for anybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019re rebuilding the store, it was really sad she wasn\u2019t going to be part of that moving forward, so for us, it was a really nice way to honour her. Now she\u2019ll always be part of that journey ahead.”<\/p>\n
New World Stoke is currently undergoing a staged redevelopment on the same site.<\/p>\n
Staff and the wider community strongly supported the tribute, Rae said.<\/p>\n
Second tribute<\/p>\n
The supermarket is also planning a similar tribute for another long-serving staff member, Julie Schofield, who died just six weeks before Hodson after 15 years as the store\u2019s loss prevention manager.<\/p>\n
With her family\u2019s permission, some of Schofield\u2019s ashes will be placed in the entranceway of the new store later this year.<\/p>\n
“We thought it was only right that she\u2019d continue to watch people come and go from the store.”<\/p>\n
The deaths of both women brought the team together, he said.<\/p>\n
“I was amazed at how well everyone supported each other and brought us even closer together while we navigated that very emotional time,” he said.<\/p>\n
Hodson\u2019s ashes were placed beneath the store earlier this month, while Schofield\u2019s will be placed during construction in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we build the future of our store, it feels only right that they were forever a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A South Island supermarket has placed the ashes of a long-serving staff member into the foundations of its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[91,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-436223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-nelson","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}