Ian David 'Smithy' Smith (not the cricketer) died almost two years ago in April 2020, aged 76. It was a sad occasion for his many friends, but along with his family and charities, part of Smith's estate was left to 100 recipients he called the 'Omega Beneficiaries' in his 15-page will.
Smith's long-time friend and lawyer David Lyon, who is the executor of the will, has been on the hunt to track down them all down. He talked to Jim Mora about the extraordinary saga.
Ian 'Smithy' Smith left part of his estate to 100 recipients he called the 'Omega Beneficiaries' in his 15-page will. Photo: Supplied
' I am so touched to think that an old pal of so many years before has remembered me in his will' - Listen to the full interview here
Lyon says Smith's Omega list includes a long list of friends from workplaces, clubs, groups and connections from around the country and overseas - many of whom are long lost.
Smith named 143 beneficiaries, but the number still to be found is now down to six.
"When I made Ian's will and he appointed me an executor, I being five years older thought it was unlikely that I'd outlive him. Never ever in 60 years in the law did I draw a will with that number or anything like that number!"
Smith was popular, and had a memory like an elephant, Lyon says.
"He was a bloke who probably never made an enemy in his life. He certainly had a very wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and he was a memorable bloke.
"A very sunny personality, very well read, excellent general knowledge, and the ability to talk to anybody at any level and leave nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings behind him."
Smith was born in 1943, grew up in Napier, and after leaving school shifted to Auckland where he started out in sales before working for a number of companies, including Otis Elevators, Fisher and Paykel and AWA medical. He became a life member of West Auckland's Karekare Surf Life Saving club, and held just about every role in the club at one time or another, Lyon says.
Many of the recipients have been astonished and touched to have been remembered by him, and many said they had known Smith only for brief periods.
"We found this bloke in ...Glenbervie, this chap used to live in the same street in Balmoral... hadn't thought about Ian in years I don't believe, and he was very moved. His words were more or less: 'It's just great, I am so touched to think that an old pal of so many years before has remembered me in his will'," Lyon says.
"And we've encountered that kind of reaction again and again. They were pals in the 1970s and probably didn't have much to do with each other subsequently, but Smithy ... never forgot."
Who's still to be found from Smithy's Omega list?
Lyon hopes that RNZ listeners may recognise some of those on the list, and put them in touch.
Here's the people Lyon is still searching for:
* Richard Hazel and family: "Likely to be somewhere in England, but formerly out of Eaton, Africa, UK and NZ, etc"
* Larry Johnson: "In Australia, but returns from New Zealand from time to time."
* Ian McHardy: worked with Smith at Fisher and Paykel.
* Lynn née Kirk and Michael Neale: "We've tracked them up to Woody Creek near Redcliffe in Queensland, and we know they recently moved into a retirement village."
* John Robertson and daughter Morag
* June Slack: A personal assistant at AWA medical division in Auckland.