People walk in and out of your lives every single day. Some
people come and go and touch us briefly but others make impressions that last
forever. Our Pop George made imprints in your heart and embedded his passion
for life in your thoughts.
Whether you were fortunate enough to meet him once, twice or
saw him regularly, you would know that the impact he had on people was
profound. If you are blessed enough, like we are to call him our family, well
then you know as we say this that it was an honour and a privilege to have him.
Pop George had six children, nineteen grandchildren and
twenty eight great grandchildren. Anyone who hears this statistic looks at me
with a dropped jaw every time we say it. It’s a huge accolade and is something
he was immensely proud of. He loved and showed his love openly to every one of
us.
During my life we have never met a man so inspirational and
positive about every aspect of life. We never heard Pop speak badly of anyone nor
of anything.
We all have fond memories of times we have spent with our
Pop. Every memory we have involves laughter and happy times. Childhood memories
are of us piling into the panel van and eating hotties out of the transformed
ashtray! Krystel remembers the day she walked with Pop to the corner shop and a
kid was jumping on the spot with a fishing hook stuck in his neck, Pop told the
kid he couldn’t see it & then whilst pretending to lean in to take a closer
look he pulled it straight out. The kid
almost fainted on the spot. James has shared many laughs with Pop. A standout
was during our Bali holiday in 2010. Whilst eating out drinking Bintangs, the
waitress approached the table and of course Pop gave her a cuddle and looked at
our family and said “you can’t buy smiles like these”, with all that we turned
around and looked and noticed her teeth that resembled Mr Ed.
Our all time favourite memories of Pop involve his traditional
speeches at all family occasions. Whether it was pre-arranged or not, Pop
always ensured he had his opportunity to talk. A standout performance was James
and Leanne’s wedding which is still a hot topic of conversation with James’
mates. The speech was the normal Pop George speech, and included his passion
for his family and his favourite line “this is living and money can’t buy
people like you people”.
To our Aunty’s and Uncle’s, my heart breaks for all of you
on the loss of your Dad. To our cousins, we share your pain and know the grief
you are feeling. A special mention to Aunty Barb and Uncle Tom, you should be
so proud of the care and dedication you gave to Pop in the final two years of
his life. You both went above and beyond in your care and compassion to Pop and
opening your home freely to family and friends to visit whenever they wished.
To our Mum, who we love and cherish with all our hearts. We
promise you our support always. You made us so proud watching your strength,
your love and your support for Pop during his unwell times. Thank you to our
Dad for providing Mum with all the support especially during the past couple of
weeks. With our families and work commitments it hasn’t allowed us to be by her
side but knowing you were there put our minds at ease.
No-one will ever fill the gap that has been left by Pop. No
person will ever fill the void in our hearts.
No-one will ever have his outlook on life and no-one will ever have his
commitment to Family.
We appreciate all sympathies and understand the saying “time
heals all wounds”, but we all know the ache in our heart will never go away.
