I wrote my father’s eulogy 14 months before he died
I wrote my father’s eulogy 14 months before he died. At least in part. It was a poem. I wrote it to let him know how much I loved him, while there was still time. I shared the poem with … Read More
In the Garden: But no, not alone
This short story is about my late mother Evelyn and her faith in the One whom Mary Magdalene met in the garden on that first Easter morn. It’s a companion piece to My mother’s latter years: Living with dementia (March … Read More
Donald William Beaumont: A grandparent I thought I knew
Some of us have the privilege of meeting and getting to know our grandparents. I was fortunate to meet all four of my grandparents and to get to know each one, to some extent, even from afar. This story is … Read More
Betty Anderson: 100 years of gratitude and loving service
This story is a tribute to the late Elizabeth Annie (“Betty”) Anderson, of Rockhampton. Betty died on 25 February 2020, aged 100 years 6 months. I met Betty when I was a child. She was a long-standing family friend. My … Read More
Queensland’s Governor Blackall: A funeral like none other
The year 1871 began on a sorrowful note. Holiday festivities came to an abrupt end when it became known on Monday 2 January that His Excellency, Colonel Blackall, Governor of Queensland, had died. With this news a universal gloom settled … Read More
My father: A Croatian-Aussie battler
This story is a tribute to my father, Petar Salečić (also known as Peter Salecich), who was born in a small Croatian village on this day, October 16, 99 years ago. It’s an abridged version of the eulogy I delivered … Read More
Anđelka Salečić: A new Australian
In 1958, at 36 years of age, Anđelka Salečić (nee Tomašić) left her European homeland and all that was familiar to her to make a new life for herself and her family in Australia. For the next 30 years she … Read More
A lock of hair: A treasured keepsake
I never knew my aunt, my mother’s sister. She died long before I was born. There are no photographs of her, so I can only imagine what she looked like. But I do have something that belonged to her. It’s … Read More
Remembering Brian Sara
On Thursday my husband and I attended a funeral. It was the funeral of Brian Edwin Sara, friend, much-loved brother in the Lord and member of St Andrew’s Anglican Church South Brisbane. The church was packed, as family members, parishioners, … Read More
