Fon’s happy place was down by the river with a mortar and pestle sitting on the ground making food.
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Regulars at Ambience Cafe in Cobram will remember the smiling face of Fon, or Fonny as she is known by her family and friends, greeting them.
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Namfon Zonneveldt, a wife and a mother-of-three, sadly passed away from a brain haemorrhage on Saturday, May 30, just weeks after her 40th birthday.
Fon was born and raised in the small village of Khlong Lan in northern Thailand, and met her husband, Adrian, while she was working in Pattaya.
Adrian’s mother, Sue Zonneveldt, said her son was working fly-in, fly-out on a gas project in Western Australia, and on his time off, he would visit Thailand.
“I believe he saw Fon working in a restaurant, and he kept going back to that same restaurant and wooing her,” she said.
“They got married in 2012 up in the country in north-western Thailand, about eight hours from Bangkok.
“Adrian shipped an elephant in on the back of a truck so he could ride an elephant to the wedding.
“It was pretty amazing ... the best wedding I've ever been to.”
Fon with husband Adrian.
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Following the birth of their youngest son, Cooper, the couple returned to Cobram, where Adrian grew up, around 10 years ago.
Mrs Zonneveldt said Fon loved her job at Ambience Cafe, where she worked with her eldest daughter, Tangmo, who is an apprentice pastry chef there.
“We were actually in there just last week and Tangmo usually works out the back, but they must have been short-staffed, and they were both up the front together at the coffee machine,” she said.
“It looked so nice to see mum and daughter standing there together.”
Mrs Zonneveldt said Fon enjoyed fishing, cooking, camping and spending time by the river.
“Her happy place was down by the river with a mortar and pestle sitting on the ground making food,” she said.
“We’ll miss her cooking.”
Mrs Zonneveldt said Fon loved watching her son Austin play soccer.
Fon with her son Cooper at Easter several years ago.
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“She loved to go to the soccer games and cheer him on,” she said.
“She was a very gentle girl with a caring nature, and her children thought she was the world.
“She was just a happy person, and she had the most beautiful smile. That's what's going to stick with me.”
Mrs Zonneveldt said “six angels in Cobram” donated money last week, enabling Adrian to quickly bring Fon’s parents to Australia.
“It was just amazing,” she said.
Adrian’s father, Hans, said Fon’s parents’ passports had expired and had to be renewed.
“I actually rang Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell last Monday to explain the situation ... he then put the wheels into motion and the next afternoon we had a visa and had them on a plane that night,” he said.
Adrian’s sister, Mandi, set up a GoFundMe page for the family, and community support poured in immediately, with more than $28,000 raised in less than 24 hours.
Within days, that figure has risen to almost $35,000 — enough to bring Fon's sisters over from Thailand for the funeral and to help Adrian cover funeral expenses.
“It’s absolutely blowing us away,” Mrs Zonneveldt said.
“We just cannot thank the community enough.
“We are all so grateful and thankful.”
Fon leaves behind husband Adrian and children Tangmo, Austin and Cooper.
“She's going to be sadly missed all over town,” Mrs Zonneveldt said.
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