OBITUARY – Mrs A.G. DEARLE
One of Te Aroha’s best known and oldest pioneers in the person of Mrs Alice Grey Dearle passed away at her home on Wednesday evening. Mrs Dearle, who had reached the ripe age of 81 years, was born in the Waikato and went through the troublesome time of the Maori Wars as did many of our best settlers of the pioneer days. In 1880 she married Mr Charles J Dearle, who was one of the Thames early settlers, being connected with the School of Mines, Clerk of the Court, and other Government institutions. After Mr Dearle’s death, Mrs Dearle carried on farming in the Te Aroha, where she reard (sic) her six daughters, five of whom survive her. Her daughters are: Mrs G Rogers (Te Aroha West), Mrs G W Mace (Auckland), Mrs A W Wight (Mangaiti), Mrs E Hines (Mangaiti), Mrs R M Taylor (Te Aroha), and Mrs S Rickards (Auckland), who died four years ago. She leaves 27 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. The funeral, which was a large one, took place at the Te Aroha cemetery on Friday afternoon. The pall bearers were six of her grandsons. [‘Te Aroha News’ Wednesday, 28oct1936, p4]