Venkat Raman
It is with a heavy heart that we report that Alan Towers is no more with us.
One of our closest friends and an avid reader of Indian Newslink, Alan lost his long, 20-month battle to pancreatic cancer yesterday (Thursday, January 24, 2019).
The end came at the Auckland City Hospital with his mother next to him.
He left behind his family, comprising his parents Barbara and Roy, brother Greg, sister-in-law Lynne, sister Sandra and brother-in-law Tim, nephews and nieces Matthew, Samantha and Francesca.
Hundreds of people attended the Funeral Service held on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at St Mary’s-n-Holy Trinity, Parnell and many of them were attired in bright-coloured shirts, just as Alan had wanted them.
A bachelor, he had asked people to donate to the Gut Cancer Foundation, P O Box 28723, Remuera, Auckland 1541) instead of offering floral tributes to him.
A Chartered Accountant by qualification, he was the Principal of Chartered Accountant firm Kendall & Walkman & Co (Princes Street, Auckland City), and a former Regional Chair (Northland) of the National Party of New Zealand and General Manager of the Newmarket Property Trust.
Trusted Colleague
National Party Director Alastair Bell, a close associate, said that he trusted Alan as his own brother.
“I have worked with him in various organisations and I have seen him work with various other organisations. He gave the best of his efforts to each of them and saw them perform well. He never took any benefit for himself from any of these organisations,” he said.
Always cheerful, Alan was known for his humour and hence there was never a dull moment when he was around.
Inspiring Personality
I worked closely with Alan since my days at the National Business Review (NBR) (1999 to 2011), even closer when the ‘India Trade Group’ (ITG) was established in 2006 by former National MP and Minister Dr Richard Worth, with former National MP and Minister Tim Groser, now National List MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, leading businessman Giri Gupta, Alan and me.
His ability to mobilise financial and human resources was inspiring and his role as the Treasurer of ITG was critical to the Organisation.
Alan was always positive in responding to invitations to attend Indian Newslink events including the launch of our ‘Electionlink’ pages from 2001 to 2014 (he missed the event in 2017), the Indian Newslink Sir Anand Satyanand Lecture (from 2011) and the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards (from 2008).
Rest In Peace, dear Alan, we will always think of you, for you were one of a kind.
Alan Towers (extreme right) watches the then Prime Minister John Key launch ‘Electionlink’ pages of Indian Newslink at Pullman Hotel on April 1, 2014
(Picture by Narendra Bedekar)
