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Jim and Kareen Malcolm, both 61, from Invercargill, loved to take motorcycle tours and had toured the northern and southern islands on it.
The Malcolms were the type of people who were always helping others where they could, says their daughter-in-law Alana Malcolm.
The couple 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 from Invercargill, were well known and would leave a huge rift in the lives of their friends and family, Malcolm said.
“Jim was happy to do anything for anyone,” she said, describing Kareen as “kind and caring.”
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“It didn’t matter if she didn’t know you from a bar of soap. She loved everyone. “
Malcolm thought it quite appropriate for his mother-in-law to work as an early childhood teacher.
“She showered the children with love and affection.”
Of course, all of that experience came in handy when the two of them became grandparents, and they never missed an opportunity to care for their two granddaughters.
They visited at least once a week and “would be here in a second to help.”
The couple’s daughter, Emma Malcolm, is pregnant with her third granddaughter and Malcolm said the family was surrounding her with their support.
Jim worked shifts at the Tiwai Point aluminum foundry and was always checking the weather during the days when he could ride his beloved Harley-Davidson.
“On his days off, he took every opportunity to take a trip around Southland,” Malcolm said. “They have been cyclists since I have known them.”
They started biking about 15 or 20 years ago, and the bike they were riding on Monday was the first one Jim bought.
The couple were on their way to Riverton, but had stopped by the Wallacetown Cemetery, as they usually did at Christmas, to pay their respects to Jim’s parents buried there.
Their son Matthew competed in national rowing events, and his parents would often get on their bikes to go watch, then spend a week or two touring small New Zealand towns.
When they weren’t on the road, Jim was good with his hands and always offered to help with the odd housekeeping work for his friends and family.
“He was always playing 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 Southland markets and parties.
In retrospect, Malcolm said she was thankful the family had one last holiday celebration, with the couple’s children and families together on Christmas Day.
Jim grew up in Wallacetown, while Kareen was originally from Tuatapere. The couple will be seen off in an open ceremony at the Ascot Hotel in Invercargill on Tuesday.
