Eulogies
Please select a person to read their eulogy...| Jane Williams (an introduction) |
Julie Buxton | Margot Yeomans | Neville Yeomans |
| Stewart Collingwood | Jason Andrew | Roxane Horton | Gus Berger |
Stewart Collingwood - Download this eulogy?
Karl was such a special mate of mine and our friendship, which was borne in school days, was one that I really treasured. Whilst Karl and I were quite different we had a lot in common and a healthy respect of each other.
I first met Karl at the Dean Jones cricket camp at the end of 1984; he was a keen cricketer and would try to bowl as fast as he possibly could. At school I remember being fascinated by this guy who had thick coca cola glasses, a wispy fringe that he could tuck behind his ear, the thin tie even thinner knot, an oversize jumper and an untucked shirt, he was far too cool for someone in year 8.
We developed a very strong friendship over the years and have had a lot of fun together. I always knew that when I was going to catch up with Karl we were in for a good time.
One of the things that I liked the most about Karl was his loyalty, I really valued the fact that Karl was a close mate and I knew that I could always count on him.
Karl always put his mates first, and would go to great lengths to look after you. He put me up in Vail for a couple of weeks when he was doing a ski season with Gussy in the mid 90's. He went to great lengths accommodate me when he was struggling to find a bed himself. I remember turning up in Vail and thinking that we may all be sleeping at the bus shelter but to Karl's credit he negotiated our way into a hotel room with 6 other blokes where had our own a slice of carpet.
I still rate that 2 weeks in Vail with Gus and Karl as one of my best times in my life, we would ski hard all day and go even harder in the bar at night. We would all be a mess by the end of the night would always find Karl asleep at the bar, as eating was never a priority for Karl and you could rest assure that he was going to run out of gas at some stage late in the evening.
Karl did a lot of travelling and working overseas; I would love catching up with him upon his return from various trips and hearing about all the adventures and mischief that he would get up to. I was often surprised to see him back in one piece, he was a keen diver, a reckless skier, he went sky diving, bungee jumping Karl was up for anything that was dangerous and looked like fun.
About 10-12 years ago we were both between jobs and spent a lot of time together trying to figure out what we were going to do. After half-heartedly sending out a few resumes we would invariably end up drinking beers smoking joints and playing cricket in the back yard. Karl was great company to spend a lazy afternoon with. He didn't have any hang ups and was totally at ease with himself and was just a good bloke.
Karl was highly intelligent and I remember we both went to an IT information night years ago. At the end of the evening we did an IQ test that was designed to see how good your problem solving skills were. I remember scratching my head and having no idea how to answer most of the questions and I would look over and see Karl who finished the paper before I had even got half through with his feet up on table looking totally bored out of mind. When I eventually finished we took our papers to be marked. My result, no surprise was average and Karl's was brilliant. They asked him to hang around and meet some industry people but Karl just shrugged her off and said to me lets get go and get drunk now!
That was typical Karl he probably could have done what ever he wanted but his priority was to have a good time with his mates, and that we certainly did.
Karl was at his happiest when he was around his good friends, chilling out having a beer.
I loved it how Karl was never in a hurry and he rarely got flustered. It was not uncommon for Karl to rock up to work at 10.30, and offer some lame excuse.
If his mind was set on something that was it, he was going to do it. This did not always work out well for him and he often had differing views to bouncers regarding his level of intoxication. If Karl would not get in you could rest assured that he was not going to give up easily. He would make it his mission to make the bouncers life a living hell, until he got in, or was taken away by the cops, he was a determined little bugger.
It is great to see a good mate fall in love and get married. In Jules, Karl hit the jackpot and the wedding up at Palm Cove will live with me forever. It was such a special day and I will never forget how happy and relaxed Karl was.
Having seen a bit of Jules over the last year I can say without a doubt that she is one of the most inspirational people that I have ever met. The endless love and devotion that she has given Karl over the last year has been truly remarkable. She is such a beautiful person and knowing that she was looking after Karl was a comforting thought.
To my crazy mate who was not afraid of anything, you were so brave right to the end. I give you my word that I will keep a close eye on Marlow and that he will be on skis before his 5th birthday.
Take it easy, mate.
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