Oliver STEAD Obituary

Although I hadn't seen Ollie in a quarter of a century, I'm saddened to hear of his passing. Condolences to his wife & children & to Karl & sisters, Charlotte & Margaret. Rest in peace.

I had the privilege of working with Oliver for a short time on a project. He had a rare combination of sharp intellect, humbleness and a wry sense of humour. My sincerest condolences to family.

Deepest condolences to Virginia, Karl, Charlotte, Margaret and families. Such a sad loss of great intellect, humanity and ability. It was a privilege to have encountered Oliver in his Alexander Turnbull Library curatorial role, and am indebted to him for his interest and support. Rest in peace, dear man, New Zealand is the poorer without you.

Oliver had invaluable curatorial knowledge. My team and I would often work with him and very much enjoyed his openness to teaching and spending time with us. He will be very much missed here at National Library for his friendship and expertise.

E te matanga, moe mai ra, moe mai ra. We were so saddened to hear of your passing e te matua. Thank you for being so kind, warm and welcoming to me, Tanja and our He Tohu team. I especially remember our korero around the original painting of Marcus King and the water colour drawing with the unknown artist. Even the simplest of things like smiling and waving in the lift will be remembered by us all. I also really enjoyed our conversation about linguistics at our ATL/PEx catch up! Nui te aroha me te manaaki ki to whanau e tangi haere ana. Na reira, e hoa, e kore e mimiti nga puna maumahara mou.

Dear Virginia and whanau,
we are thinking of you all at this sad time.
Love David & Sherry Reynolds

A friend you led me down the path, who initially ’showed me the way’. He was a great teacher in his time!
I will never forget him as long as I am here. Lord grant him peace now. TERRY KING

There are times when words, no matter how carefully chosen, cannot convey the appropriate sense of loss, nor provide any comfort. So I will borrow those of Raymond Carver, which at least come close.

And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.

Oliver, you were beloved.

I was deeply saddened to hear of Oliver´s passing. I worked with him at the Alexander Turnbull Library for five years, and I valued him as a knowledgeable, erudite and entertaining colleague, and a passionate advocate for the visual arts in archival institutions. Haere ra Oliver. Rest in peace.

I am so sad to hear this news. May you have peace my friend, and be in a place of fine music and good books, with laughter and good cheer. You will be missed. Cress

Such sad news just got told...Rest In Love Ollie

Oliver, such a shock you're gone. In the years that we worked together I found you to be witty, generous, irreverent, earnest, rigorous, knowledgeable, hilarious, kind and dedicated. I´m so sorry for the pain that has been left by your passing. May you be at peace, and may your family also find peace, and strength. My condolences to your family; I know they were everything to you. Om shanti shanti shanti.

So sad to learn of Oliver's death. He was a Latin student of mine at the Auckland Grammar School (one year) and was always well prepared, - not his type of school and he moved away to another the following year.

The words escape me but the memories...still so joyfully vivid. We've missed you since your move to Wellington my dear friend.

It feels like the world has lost some of its gloss today. We will miss you Ollie and send our love and sympathy to Virginia, Isaac and Gabriella.

We remember having lovely fun with Ollie & Virginia at parties there when we lived in Torbay 1999-2007 before returning to Germany. Shocked to hear this sad news. Our deepest condolences to all the family, Jan & Dieter

E Oliver. kua mahue wawe koe i a matau. ka maumahara tonu matau ki to ahua whakakatakata me to mohio koi. ka whakarangatira i to matau whakahoahoa i roto i nga tau me nga pakanga kaha i whawhai etahi i riro i etahi i akohia e matau, engari i tupu ake. kei konei ahau e tu ana ki mua i te totara kua hinga o to tatau ao whare taonga. ka pouri i te ao e hiahia ana ki te kaiarahi i homai e koe. Ka haere e te hoa aroha. ka haere ki te taha to tatau tipuna. E te whanau pani kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui. arohanui na paora merata, piere & freda

While Ollie and I were not really close friends, when we got together we had some good times. He was forthcoming and fun to be with. And when working with him, I found him to be totally committed and professional. My condolences. A great loss and I will miss knowing he is around. Merv Hutchinson

Rest in Peace, Oliver. It's a shame not to have been in touch more over the years. Heartfelt condolences to Isaac, Virginia and Gabriella.

Virginia our heartfelt sympathies to and your family.
Katrina and Alan Stamp

Just heard the sad news from Michael Dunn. I really liked Oliver, the sort of person I wished I had known better. Fine mind and wickedly deadpan, dry sense of humour. Also the sort of person who would never have done anyone any harm in his life. I feel proud that I was a strong advocate for his PhD when one or two fractious folk thought otherwise - and he got it. Oliver, you left us too soon.

Such sad news. Oliver was a lovely man. Our deepest sympathy to all the family at this terrible time.
Cheryl, Tom and Reuben Laurie

Sharing my deepest condolences Virginia, Gabriella and Isaac. So sorry to hear of the passing of Oliver.

A dear deeply insightful, loving friend and funny erudite company. I cannot believe it, and wish for a time rewind to undo this sad news. Feeling for his children who he absolutely adored and was so very proud of and concerned. Diane

Carol and John Cowan send their condolences to the family.