When I first met Rae Bower, I immediately noticed her large motorized wheel chair. Within nanoseconds, though, my eyes focused on her beautiful face. Translucent skin framed high cheekbones and a smile that drew you right to her and went all the way up to her embracing eyes. Then she greeted me in a quiet voice with a lilting accent. Rae announced she was born in New Zealand. Why do we love such accents?
We met at a Disability Advocates of Kent County (Michigan) Board of Directors meeting, of which I was an officer and Rae was a new member. She introduced herself as having marketing skills and hoped to utilize her talents in expanding accessibility for persons with a disability, especially regarding sidewalks and expanding transportation services. Few knew that Rae already made a huge difference in a New Zealand community and that she would steamroll much needed accessibility changes in Grand Rapids in less than 10 years.
NEW ZEALAND
Raewyn Kendon was born on October 2, 1956 to Keith and Freda in Te Awamutu, a small village of only a few thousand people on the north island of New Zealand. She, as well as elder brother Evan, grew up in a large rural region with many dairy, beef, and sheep farms. Nestled in a wide valley, the village is close to the Waipa River and the extinct Kakepuku and Pirongia volcanoes. Rae loved hiking in the bush clad ranges and mountainous regions.
After graduating from high school, Rae eventually moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she worked as a secretary for a Formula One racing car circuit. F1 is the highest class of single-seater auto racing and consists of a series of races known as the Grand Prix (French for grand prize.), with races around the world. Little did Rae know that this job instilled in her a love for traveling.
In 1980 Rae and her then boyfriend were backpacking on a sea trail in Abel Tasman National Park, located on the southern New Zealand island. While walking the trail, by what some would call fate, others might call happenstance, they met an American young man going in the same direction so they walked together. The American intended to spend a few months traveling throughout the New Zealand islands and then a year motorcycling throughout Australia. At the end of the trail, they said their good-byes and the American went off in another direction. A few months later, however, Rae and the American met again, by coincidence or by destiny.
Next, a storybook romance…
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