EULOGY FOR ARTHUR
And many of his gifts were made by hand. As an engineer, Dad had lots of
tools – I should know, since they’re all in my garage now. And the best of
those tools were the ones he made himself – his wonderful lathe, CNC ma-
chine, and his most important tool of all – his love - which he used to repair
all of the things his other tools could not.
With this magic toolset Dad built:
that wonderful train – Jori; and that dolls house – Jenny; those solar water
heaters – Peter – and the flat pack water tank he assembled one Christmas;
that tiny generator for your train – Doug.
And Dad would have loved to have built:
that tiny house for you Amy; and a garage for you Chris.
In his later years, Dad’s gifts of love came more in the form of the precious
time he spent with us all: those honey prawns – with lemon - at the Takee
Inn - Andrew and Peter; those regular dinners - Rob, Katie and Josh; those
Sunday morning chats on the phone – Doug; those trips to St Margret’s
Church every Sunday – Angus; those Thursday lunches and afternoons with
Don and the men’s shed boys; those chats with Bob about his latest modifi-
cations to his crane; and those happy hours on Friday night at Kangara
Waters.
I’M STILL HERE ...
While Dad’s frail human form has finally worn out, I don’t have to look too far
to remind myself that his substance still lives on in the life and love he has
given to us all. To quote the great man himself – “I’m still here”.
I can see him in: The amazing bundle of energy and love that is my sister
and her rock Peter; And in the lives and loving hearts of: my other sisters –
Heather, Jennifer, and Alison and their families; my brothers – Robert, Bruce
and Doug; my sons - Andrew and Peter; my nieces - Amy and Jenny and
her family; my nephews - Chris and Jori and his family; and all my Dad’s
amazing friends.
And it is that enduring life and love that I would like us all to celebrate from
this day on.
We’d love it if you could all join us, after the service, to celebrate that life and
love.
St Margaret’s News
11
October 2018