I remember Grandad as an extremely quiet man: when I was little, he would sometimes take so long to answer a question (often as much as several seconds: outrageous!), that I would repeat the question several times. He was always very patient with me, because of course he had always heard me the first time; he was just taking the time to formulate a response. When Grandad said something, it was always worth listening to.
He was a capable man, a thinker, a reader, a man who not only knew how to fix things, but also took the time to do so. I remember with particular fondness his unexpected artistic side: he encouraged me to paint, drawing me sketches of traveller's palms and Norfolk Island Pines to paint in the outlines of.
The time I spent with him in Queensland was delightful, full of good food and the seaside, sport and outings (which I now realise must have often been quite tedious for him: endless trips to Dreamworld and the like!). It saddens me that I can't be with you all to say goodbye to such a good, gentle man, but I am comforted by the knowledge that his was a full, successful and well-lived life.
- Helen Thomson
Helen, now living in the Netherlands, recorded the hymn In Paradisum from the Requiem Mass to be played at her grandfather's funeral.
In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
The words mean:
May the Angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs greet you at your arrival and lead you into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the choir of Angels greet you and like Lazarus, who once was a poor man, may you have eternal rest.
Page created 29 July 2005; last updated 25 October 2005