Many Ponsonby people knew Terry Doherty. He had been a real estate agent in our area for over 40 years.
After he left school Terry joined Christopher Bede Photography, his father’s business, selling photos door to door, but he soon entered real estate - first of all at Barfoots in Epsom.
In 1975, Terry joined Rick Bush at Ponsonby Real Estate, and quickly became Rick’s top salesman.
Initially on the corner of Ponsonby Terrace, they moved to a College Hill site and then back to Ponsonby Road on the corner of Douglas Street. By this time Terry Doherty had bought the company from Rick Bush, but Rick continued on with Terry at Ponsonby Real Estate.
A further change saw Andy Davies (of Ponsonby Central fame) brought in to run the company. That was in the late 1980s.
Eventually they moved in to the premises where L.J. Hooker now are, where Andy stayed for a few more years and Steven Glucina operated on Terry Doherty’s licence. Then L.J. Hooker approached Steven and he opened the L.J. Hooker office. Terry bought Bay Realty and operated out of their offices in St Marys Road.
Ponsonby Real Estate became the very first real estate company to advertise in the forerunner of Ponsonby News, The Ponsonby Community Newsletter.
Then one day in 1991, Terry asked me if I knew of anyone who might have a job for his daughter Melissa. Melissa promptly left the 7th form at Baradene College and joined Bayfield Services.
Melissa has gone on to be the proud mum of three children, living out Franklin way. We ran in to Melissa a few years ago at a tennis tournament where Melissa’s son Ethan played my son Theo in the first round. A small world, certainly.
Many locals used to see Terry, smoking furiously, sitting outside Mutiara Cafe on Ponsonby Road in recent times. It was the smoking that eventually brought him undone. His health deteriorated, but as his wife Fetu reported, he just failed to wake up one morning. A fine way to go, if a little prematurely - at just 70.
We at Ponsonby News celebrate the life of a loyal local, and offer our sincere condolences to his wife Fetu and his extended family. (JOHN ELLIOTT)