Timaru volunteer Dennis Veal would ‘‘rather wear out than rust out’’.
Mr Veal is the Volunteering Mid and South Canterbury volunteer of the month.
The award honours his input into a local mental health and addiction service.
Mr Veal said he was saying his prayers one morning and had the idea to pop into Ampss101 on Church St with an apple pie.
He said he could remember when the building had been a boot factory.
‘‘I’d never been here before.’’
Mr Veal, a retired sailor and school teacher, had gone back weekly with home-made muffins.
Each week he found a jigsaw puzzle, some he purchased himself, which he would piece together on a table.
He said some weeks he might not chat to many people, but other weeks the puzzle table could prove popular with many hands helping to put it together.
Manager Amanda McNoe said, ‘‘The muffins are all gone by the end of the week.’’
Mrs McNoe said people would gravitate towards him.
Mr Veal had been her teacher when she was at school. She said he was a ‘‘kaumatua’’ for the younger ones.
‘‘He’s a well-lived, worldly man.’’
Mr Veal was born in England, and went to sea at 16. He met his wife Phyllis — a New Zealand girl living in London — when her Auckland-based mother asked him to deliver a Christmas cake to her daughter. He transported the cake from Auckland to England.
‘‘I slept on her settee, there was no hanky panky in those days.’’
Then he splashed out and bought tickets to The Sound of Music. He was smitten with her.
‘‘I don’t mind admitting it. I’m not sure what I would have amounted to without Phyllis.
“I thank God every day for the things I’ve got.’’
Mr Veal has volunteered extensively around the region, including running church services — some of which took place at rest-homes — and volunteering at the hospital.
