A Blue Mountains memorial service will be held for the much-loved photographer Cindy Waldron, who was taken by a crocodile at Thornton Beach in North Queensland on May 29.
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Cindy’s partner of three years, Dave Vladis from Blackheath, said the memorial would be a “gathering" at Leura Golf Club on Sunday, July 10 from noon-3pm.
Services have already been held for Cindy in New Zealand, where she was raised, and in Sydney on June 19, which would have been her 47th birthday.
Cindy had moved from New Zealand to New South Wales 18 years ago.
She lived in Leura for many years and was well-known in the Mountains community, only recently moving to Lithgow to buy a house in the highly competitive housing market.
She previously worked at a dental practice in Wentworth Falls and was excited to be starting a job at Aldi in Lithgow, to supplement her photography.
“She was a great soul, an amazing soul and an incredibly selfless person,” Mr Vladis said.
Cindy would volunteer to support the elderly, and over five years had established a strong relationship with one older lady in the Upper Mountains, who Mr Vladis said was a “big part of Cindy’s life”.
“She was a nurturer,” he said, and was close to his kids, Alice, 25, and Nick, 16.
He and Cindy loved cooking, and would get quite competitive in the kitchen. Her favourite meal to make was a Thai pork dish.
Friends had described Cindy as “vibrant” and “a really lovely, kind human being who had time for everyone”.
Mr Vladis said his thoughts were with Cindy’s friend Leeann Mitchell, who was with her when the attack occurred, and that he really appreciated the support of the community, who had been dropping by with food and flowers.
He has only just returned to work as the head of maintenance at Waldorf Leura Gardens Resort.
Just recently a friend reminded him how Cindy used to love lying in bed listening to Mr Vladis playing his guitar as she fell asleep.
In saying goodbye, Mr Vladis wrote a poem for Cindy:
My solace is in your grace
My solace is in your face
The most beautiful flower cannot replace
The magic you bring while I’m in your space
I feel you in my veins
In my heart you will remain
Bright shining and always true
Farewell my Cindy . . . Thank you
– from Dave, Alice, Nicholas, Bede, Di and Mark
- Those attending the memorial on July 10, for catering purposes call Kim Martin, 0412 269 955.