A creative life lived to the full

In the front yard of Gurli Hansen’s Nelson home stands a magnificent flowering cherry tree; a living reminder of her son Thorkild.

The beautiful tree was given to her years ago by a friend and Gurli planted it as ‘‘Thorkild’s tree’’, watching it grow and thrive over time.

Now, the tree, and memories of a photoshoot with Thorkild beside it, remain precious, after Thorkild – a wellknown Nelson jeweller, silversmith and craftsman – died at his home surrounded by family on November 6, aged 52.

Thorkild Hoyer Hansen was born into a creative Danish family – the son of Gurli and the late renowned jeweller Jens Hansen, who together established the family’s acclaimed Nelson jewellery business.

Thorkild had a long battle with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, which he was diagnosed with in 2005. Although at the time he was advised by his oncologist to put his affairs in order, Thorkild’s battle with the cancer won him 15 extra precious years to spend with his family and pursue his passions in life.

Thorkild, Gurli says, was always the cheeky one in the family, always full of enthusiasm and a natural communicator who even from a young age loved being in the company of others.

‘‘When I think back now he was a shining light,’’ she said. ‘‘He was just so delightful with the way he was with people.’’

The outpouring of comments from people fond of Thorkild, from varying sectors of the Nelson community, had been ‘‘humbling’’, Gurli said.

In a eulogy at Thorkild’s funeral, his brother Halfdan Hansen remembered Thorkild as a passionate, thoughtful, rational and community-minded man who loved spending time with his family.

‘‘Most of all he was respectful of the strengths of others and valued fairness and equity.’’

Thorkild was born at Nelson Hospital on June 3, 1969 and right from his early days he showed flair.

‘‘I remember Thorkild most as being a very snappy and flamboyant dresser. Billowy floral shirts, scarves and flared trousers were not at all scary to him and he embraced ’70s life to the full,’’ his brother said of their childhood.

The family jewellery business was a huge part of the Hansen family’s life – one that Thorkild was exposed to right from the get-go. While pregnant with Thorkild, Gurli worked in the family’s workshop making jewellery.

In 1976, after father Jens won a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council scholarship to study in Europe, the family moved to Denmark for 18 months and the boys attended school there.

‘‘At the time it felt like we had visited more art galleries and museums and ate more strange food than we could both care to remember, but I’m certain that it cemented an appreciation of arts and culture when we got older,’’ Halfdan said.

He explained that while Thorkild is not an uncommon first name if you live in Denmark, in New Zealand it was a different story – and their ‘‘Rumpelstiltskin names and bohemian clothes’’ led to inevitable teasing.

Still, Thorkild remained proud of his name and his Danish heritage.

One year in the early 1980s while their cousin Mark was visiting from Auckland, Mark and Thorkild sneaked into the clock tower building site of the now Nelson City Council, on the corner of Halifax and Trafalgar streets, and delighted at writing their names in some wet concrete.

‘‘Safely away from the scene of the crime and still high on the adrenaline our cousin said ‘wow, how was that – they’ll never know who Mark was’, at which point my brother apparently turned pale and said ‘oh no, we have to go back and smooth my name out’,’’ Halfdan said.

‘‘They went back the next day but the place had already been barricaded. Luckily there was no investigation and his name probably lives on in a corner there somewhere still.’’

In the 1980s Thorkild became an apprentice at his father’s workshop, learning the fundamentals of the jewellery trade. He later honed his craft in silversmithing when he worked for Peter Woods in Auckland in the summer of 1989-90, and he helped Woods work on the Queen’s Baton for the 14th Commonwealth Games. The baton carried a message from the Queen and was relayed by runners from Buckingham Palace to Auckland and used in the opening and closing ceremonies.

Thorkild went on to make his own large-scale silver pieces and exhibited independently in Wellington and Auckland in the 1990s.

When his father died in 1999, Thorkild took over running the family jewellery business in Nelson’s Selwyn Place, while Halfdan, his business partner, was living overseas.

But in 2005 his life was to change, when he was diagnosed with the incurable mesothelioma, which Thorkild believed he got from asbestos in the family’s workshop in the 1980s.

The following year Thorkild married his partner Miriam and retired from the family business to focus on his cancer treatment and his young family – stepson Bran with Miriam, and daughters Anna and Mary from a previous relationship.

In 2007, Thorkild took up woodworking, completing courses at the New Zealand Centre for Fine Woodworking in Wakapuaka, and with his talent, combined with a natural understanding of how to motivate people, he went on to teach at the centre. With his input the school survived and thrived.

‘‘One of the things I had always wanted to do was make furniture,’’ Thorkild told Stuff in 2018. ‘‘I thought I should take the chance. Dad would’ve loved it, we talked about making furniture. He always enjoyed watching me make things.’’

But Thorkild had many other interests too, including being an enthusiastic committee member of The Boathouse Society from 1999 onward and a football fan who was a life member of FC Nelson football club.

Thorkild never lost his motivation; in his last few months teaching his adult daughters and wife Miriam how to use his tools, with Miriam finishing their garden shed under his instruction, said Gurli, whose own home contains treasured furniture and other objects made by Thorkild.

‘‘He was obviously a born teacher. He loved teaching,’’ Gurli said. ‘‘I’ve rarely seen a prouder father than he was.

‘‘He’s given us all a very, very precious gift. He’s cemented our family for a long time to come.’’

Gurli is at peace with her son’s passing, knowing that’s what Thorkild, who lived life to the full, would want.

‘‘Get out there and celebrate life and give it your best shot. That’s what he did.

‘‘I feel so grateful and lucky to have known him, and I’ve been privileged that he has allowed me to get to know him as a man,’’ Gurli said. ‘‘He’s shown that love that from a son you always dream of. Some mothers might live to experience it, but he gave it to me in spades – he really did.’’

– By Vanessa Phillips