TRIBUTE PAID

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31635, 22 March 1968, Page 3

TRIBUTE PAID

Mrs C. J. Ashley, president of the Christchurch branch of the National Council of Women paid a tribute to the late Mrs W. W. Averill, a former member of the council at the monthly meeting last evening. “Mrs Averill gave outstanding service to the society which she represented and to the National Council of Women. Her energetic enthusiasm, her vitality, her quick grasp of any situation, and her ability to express her views clearly and concisely will long be remembered by those who worked with her,” said Mrs Ashley. She was a delegate first in Auckland and on taking up residence in Timaru she joined the council there in 1945, being made a vice-pre-sident a year later. She held this position until 1953 when she did not seek re-election because of her impending departure to Christchurch. When her husband was appointed to St Mary’s, Merivale, Mrs Averill joined this council as a delegate of the Mothers’ Union. She was a member of the executive and a vice-president of this branch and in 1962 was made a national vice-president. “It was typical of Mrs Averill that the day before she died she had taken her grandchildren for a picnic—swimming and playing with them. “The council is deeply grateful for her contribu•tion,” said Mrs Ashley.