Desmond Waite - My Great Grandad

Desmond Waite is my great grandad. He is the son of Beryl and Stanley Waite who are my great great grandparents, the husband of my great grandma Helen, the dad of my grandma Jacki and my Aunty Nicky. He was a grandad to my dad and uncle Oscar, and a great grandad to me. He passed away before my brother was born.

Desmond was born in Auckland on February 7th, 1931, son of Beryl and Stanley Waite, Desmond attended Takapuna Primary school, Takapuna Intermediate, and Takapuna Grammar. He loved sports like football and shooting.

When he was 21 years old, he was at Takapuna beach, and there was a 20ft Pylon in the water which he climbed and jumped off of. He didn’t realize that the water was too shallow and he hit the rocks, breaking his back, paralyzed from the shoulder blades down

Following the accident, Desmond was in Middlemore Hospital. for 3 years, and was given between 6 months and 3 years to live. In total, he ended up spending 64 years as a paraplegic. During the 3 years in the hospital, Desmond fell in love with his nurse, Helen Coombe, and he got married to her when he was 24.

Desmond worked for a company called Abilities, and because of his service toward it, he received a Queen’s Service Medal on the 4th of June 2001 for Community Service because of his service to the disabled.

Desmond passed away on March the 21st 2015 at the age of 84. He is one of the bravest people I have met, and he was a fighter. I am proud to have someone like him in my family and I hope he is remembered by future generations.