Swansea man raising money to fly wife’s body back to New Zealand after tragic death

A man from Swansea has raised over £7,000 to help fly his wife’s body home to her native New Zealand after her tragic death.

Piata Tauwhare was found dead at a tanning salon in Swansea on May 28. It is understood that she died suddenly from a cardiac arrest.

She was found by her mother in law at the Lextan tanning studio some two hours after her appointment began.

South Wales Police said that they believed there were no suspicious circumstances and a file has been passed to the coroner.

Her husband Ifan Jones said that he was now fundraising to give her a funeral in New Zealand, and a GoFundMe page had been set up on his behalf.

“The most glowing smile, aura and heart the rest of us could only wish for,” the fundraising page says.

“Anyone who has ever had the pleasure to grace the presence of Piata Tauwhare will know that she was one of the kindest and purest souls they have ever and will ever remember. Her gleaming smile, eternally set on her sun-kissed face will live happily in our hearts forever.

“Even when she didn’t understand a word our weird Welsh accents were saying, her teeth still glistened courteously and reassuringly to make us feel heard.

“That was her in a nutshell, a compassionate, selfless woman, putting others first, even when she couldn’t understand a bloody word we were saying.”

‘Amazing’

Piata Tauwhare and Ifan Jones had met on a night out in Bristol, England two years ago, while the Kiwi was travelling. The pair married on September 1, last year.

Ifan Jones told the New Zealand Herald that he was “a mess, I’m just depressed and I don’t know what to do with myself.” He added that “she was amazing, I’ve never [met] anyone like that before”.

A Lextan spokesperson said: “We give our condolences to the deceased’s family and friends, and we have also offered counselling to any affected staff.

“We are co-operating with the investigation into this case by South Wales Police and any further inquiries should be made to them at this time.”