 However, her adrenal gland cancer intervened, and they married in the house overlooking the garden, only a few weeks before Arkie's death in 2001.The ashes of both Brett and Arkie were scattered in the garden, as were the ashes of Wendy's father and mother, her twin sister Joyce and her beloved pet dogs.In 2009, Wendy Whiteley was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to the community through the establishment and maintenance of a public garden at Lavender Bay, and as a supporter of the visual arts".