The Malcolms were the kind of people who were always helping others

Thursday, 31 December 2020

Jim and Kareen Malcolm, both 61, of Invercargill, loved taking trips on their motorcycle, and had toured both the North and South Islands on it.

The Malcolms were the kind of people who were always helping others where they could, their daughter-in-law Alana Malcolm says.

The pair died in an accident near Wallacetown on Monday when the motorcycle they were riding collided with a dairy tanker on State Highway 99.

Kareen Marie Malcolm and James Lennon Malcolm, both 61 and of Invercargill, were both well-known and would leave a huge gap in their friends’ and family’s lives, Malcolm said.

“Jim was happy to do anything for anyone,” she said, while describing Kareen as “gentle and caring.”

* Two dead after truck and motorcycle collide in Southland

* Person flown to hospital after car and milk tanker collide in Southland

“It didn’t matter if she didn’t know you from a bar of soap. She loved everyone.”

Malcolm believed it was quite fitting that her mother-in-law worked as an early childhood teacher.

“She showered the children with love and affection.”

Of course, all that experience came in handy when the two became grandparents, and they never missed an opportunity to babysit their two granddaughters.

They visited at least once a week and “would be here in a second to help out.”

The couple's daughter Emma Malcolm is pregnant with their third granddaughter and Malcolm said the family was wrapping their support around her.

Jim was a shift worker at the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter and was always checking the weather for days he could ride his beloved Harley-Davidson.

“On his off days, he took any opportunity to take a trip around Southland,” Malcolm said. “They’ve been bikers for as long as I’ve known them.”

They started riding around 15 to 20 years ago, and the bike they were riding Monday was the first one Jim had bought.

The couple were on their way to Riverton, but had stopped at the Wallacetown Cemetery, as they often did around Christmas time, to pay respects to Jim’s parents buried there.

Their son Matthew competed in national rowing events, and his parents would often get on the bike to go and watch, and then spend a week or two touring small towns of New Zealand.

When they weren’t on the road, Jim was good with his hands, always offering to help with his friends’ and family's odd home maintenance jobs.

“He was always tinkering with his own house,” Malcolm said.

Kareen, on the other hand, “was a bit of a shopper.” She and her closest friends were regulars at fêtes and markets around Southland.

In hindsight, Malcolm said she was grateful the family got a last Christmas celebration, with both the couple's children and families together on Christmas day.

Jim grew up in Wallacetown, while Kareen was originally from Tuatapere. The pair will be farewelled at an open ceremony at The Ascot Hotel in Invercargill on Tuesday.