OBITUARY
Uncle Kenny was a creature of habit.
Every morning, the man Thames knew as Jock Munro would go and fetch two sausage rolls from the nearby cafe, taking them back to his car yard at 203 Walter St.
Along the way, driving his mobility scooter and donning a cap and scarf, he wouldn’t be shy to use his horn, with locals dodging and side-stepping out of the stubborn 86-year-old’s path.
Kenneth Owen “Jock” Munro, the well-known identity behind Jock Munro Motors, passed away in his happy place, surrounded by his cars on February 13, 2024.
His nieces, Raewyn and Joanne, told The Profile that while Jock’s scootering left a lot to be desired, he was also a lousy back-seat driver.
“He was just the worst passenger,” Raewyn said. “It was always nerve wracking with his continuous instructions – you had to always have both hands on the steering wheel at 10 and 2 o’clock.”
It’s for these reasons that the family wanted to thank the Thames Shuttle Service for transporting Jock to Waikato Hospital in Hamilton during the last 12 months of his life – as well as the staff from Thames Hospital.
Jock was born and raised in Waihi, the youngest and “most spoiled” of 10 children.
He moved to Thames at age 18 and was poached by Fraser Chapman to work as a car salesman, with Fraser teaching the young Jock all the tricks of the trade.
In 1975, when Jock was 38, he opened his own business and throughout the decades helped finance people into cars – all on a trusted handshake.
In 2017, he received a long service award from Thames-Coromandel District Council.
Forever a bachelor but fond of his family, one of Raewyn and Joanne’s first memories of their Uncle Kenny was watching him turn up to his weekly visits in Waihi, driving one of his many vehicles.
Their grandma had even taught her budgie to say: ‘Come home, Kenny, take us for a ride in your car”.
Asides from motor vehicles, Jock’s other love were his cats.
Over the years, he had three companions – the first, Francis, was credited with saving his life after a fire broke out in Jock’s house on Brown St. The second was Bluestone, who lived for 16 years and whose ashes sat atop Jock’s casket during his funeral. The third cat was Chloe, who, following Jock’s death, has been seen visiting Twentymans Funeral Home and the local vets.
And despite being a “grumpy old thing”, the number of Thames residents who kept an eye on Jock reaffirmed to his family how highly he was regarded around town.
“The community has always looked out for him,” Raewyn said, “checking up on him, doing drive-bys.”
He was still going to work as often as he could, she said, and his passing at the car yard couldn’t have been scripted any better.
“He did it his way right to the very end.”
Jock is survived by his older siblings, brother Alex and beloved sister Milly.
BY KELLEY TANTAU
