Sue Maroroa Jones

[LawrenceCooper]

From Facebook today:

Gawain Maroroa Jones is with Sue Maroroa Jones.
45 m ·
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce that my beautiful wife, Sue Maroroa Jones has passed away.
An incredible and cherished mother of Samaria and baby Daniel, beloved daughter of the late Temu Maroroa and Suee Lee Maroroa, and wonderful sister of Andrew Maroroa, she leaves behind a loving family who will miss her greatly.
Please send your personal memories of Sue to [email protected]. It would mean a great deal to me and the family during this difficult time.
Thank you for keeping the Maroroa Jones family in your thoughts.
On behalf of the family,
EI TE TI - EI TE TA
EI TE TITI MAROROA WIN
EI TE TITI MAROROA LOSE

[John Upham]

This is incredibly awful news.

I am so, so sorry to hear this.

Terribly sad and dreadful.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

So, so sad. She was only 32. There is a thread on Twitter as well, where condolences are also being left from across the chess world. Thoughts with Gawain and all the family.

https://twitter.com/TelegraphChess/stat ... 9946293249

[John Upham]

There is a steadily growing list of condolences here:


https://www.facebook.com/gawain.jones.1

[David Sedgwick]

There are times when I really don't know what to say, but I'll try.

Sue was a wonderful woman, devoted to Gawain and latterly to their family.

RIP

[Andrew Zigmond]

I'm in shock. I met Sue once when I joined her and mutual friends for a meal during the 2016 Bournemouth British and she was such a lovely person.

There are some things in life that are just brutally wrong and this is one of them. My thoughts are with the family, especially Gawain and her two young children.

[Mick Norris]

That's really sad news

If someone can point Gawain in the right direction to get help that would at least be something practical

WAY

[John Clarke]

Just woken up to this devastating news. I'd long since given up active play, so never met Sue, but in her comparatively brief NZ chess career she must have been a terrific role model for women and girls (and Polynesians in general). Kia kaha, Gawain. There'll be many here who are with you in spirit at this awful time.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Terrible news.

[Simon Rogers]

Very sad news.
My thoughts are with Gawain and his family at this difficult time.
RIP

[Ian Thompson]

in her comparatively brief NZ chess career she must have been a terrific role model for women and girls (and Polynesians in general).

Her English rugby club think so.

[Matt Mackenzie]

She died just after having their third child. How awful.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Second child I think. I remember when she was playing top board for Hammersmith Chess Club.

[Ronnie Burton]

So sad news on somebody so young .

[John Clarke]

The NZ Chess Federation has done Sue proud, with a full-length tribute on its website.

By contrast, the NZ mainstream media have let this tragic event pass by unremarked. I sent a tip-off to one of our major newspaper companies, citing the Twitter and Facebook links. Surely, I thought, the dramatic nature of what’s happened, and the fact that it involved someone who became so accomplished at a young age in their particular field, might provoke some interest. Not a dicky-bird.

I’ve also suggested to the same organisation that Sue deserves a proper obituary in their pages, which tend far too often contain stuff reprinted from overseas sources about semi-obscure American scientists or other figures of only peripheral interest to Kiwis. (Case in point: this very day, Wellington’s The Post carries a long piece about some US sprinter who’s also just died at 32.) I’m not holding my breath.