1968 - 1999
Andrew’s Eulogy
I would like to thank you all for coming to today’s service and joining with our family in expressing our sadness and sorrow at Andrew’s sudden death. I would also like to thank Father Doyle, the parish priest here at Our Lady of Lourdes and the family priest for the last 32 years for conducting today’s funeral service. Thank you father.
Andrew died a young man, just 31. The latter years of his life were ones of inner turmoil as he sought to come to terms with his illness. His last diary notes record the anguish that he felt. He wrote that he felt trapped like a caged bird, a bird that wanted to be free. But, when offered the chance of freedom and set free it would be driven back into the cage. He felt that he didn’t fit anywhere within the circle and nor did he fit anywhere outside the circle. It’s hard for us to know how he felt.
It hurt us to see Andrew suffering and battling to come to terms with life. Everyone loved Andrew and we all remember him being a wonderful, kind person. We all hoped Andrew would get better.
Andrew was born into a large family, the second youngest son with three older sisters and five older brothers. He received lots of love and attention from everyone. Andrew was an energetic, bubbly kid, always full of life and fun and the usual mischief young boys get up to. He was popular with schoolmates and popular with everyone in the family. He was the type of person people loved being around. He loved being with his nephews and nieces, and they all adored their uncle. In particular Andrew was a great help to Daniel and helped him a lot with looking after Daniel’s three boys.
Later in life Andrew explored other religious sects but Andrew’s first experience with an alternative religion came very early in life when he attended a Jewish Kindergarten. When Dad was teaching at Mt Scopus College he drove Andrew into school each day. So there was great amusement one day when he proudly proclaimed to Mum and Dad, after coming home from kindergarten, that he was one of the Chosen People.
He attended the primary school here, Our Lady of Lourdes, and successfully completed his Higher School Certificate at St Josephs, Fern Tree Gully. He was noted for being a diligent and bright student.
Andrew deferred his Science course at Monash and went to work as a pay clerk at Beaurepaires. He must have impressed his boss because soon after joining the company he was told to buy a suit and wear it to work next day. When he arrived at work wearing his new suit he was told he was now working with executive team. He completed his accountancy degree, working by day and studying at nights and on weekends. In everything he did Andrew was a perfectionist and gave it his all.
During this time Andrew gave up most sport as he devoted himself to building his career which was a pity because Andrew was a talented junior sportsman. He enjoyed playing cricket and he was very competitive in our backyard games. He captained the Glen Park U16 cricket team winning the competition batting and bowling averages. He loved Aussie Rules and was a keen Hawthorn supporter. He played in the Bayswater U16 premiership side and he also played in the secondary schools Shell Cup Grand Final for St Josephs. He played junior age representative rugby for Victoria. In his comeback game for the Croydon Colts rugby Club he scored a stunning 6 tries.
Andrew married Louise Gonzalo nearly 9 years ago and those who attended the wedding remember what a splendid and happy occasion it was. All of us thought that, Andrew at the age of 22, had everything to look forward to, for a happy rewarding life. Perhaps, bought on somewhat by his illness the marriage ended after about 5 years. However Andrew and Louise remained amicable friends. Andrew also remained very friendly with the Louise’s mother and father, Roberto and Marion. Andrew greatly admired Roberto and Marion and the feeling was mutual. Andrew would often help them out.
At about this time it was noticeable that Andrew was not well. Andrew stopped working because of his illness. He began searching for answers – searching for the truth, the meaning of life, and solutions to his problems. He turned to Buddhism and for a time Andrew found great relief and peace of mind through his study of Buddhism and meditation. It had a positive effect on his life.
Andrew came to live with Mum and Dad and was a great source of comfort to them. Andrew and Dad often enjoyed philosophical discussions. Mum and Dad were inspired to read about the teachings of Buddhism and also look again more deeply at the teachings of Christianity. Mum and Dad found him an absolute pleasure to have around the house. Andrew loved caring for animals. Dad had a dog, an aging Brittany Spaniel called Blitz. Andrew cared for him, took him for walks and fed him. It wasn’t long before Blitz came to look upon Andrew as his master - not Dad. In Thailand Andrew took in and cared for sick and injured birds and dogs much to the amusement of the other monks and locals.
Andrew became very devoted to Buddhism and twice travelled to Thailand to further his studies as a monk. When he left in January this year we didn’t know when he would return. He came back two months ago and handed in his robes. He never really looked well. The happy smile had gone and he had become more introspective. He busied himself with various projects. Chris employed him as a computer consultant. He planned on going on a retreat to Tarrawarra Monastery with Dad. He had also attended a few masses with Mum and Dad, here at this church, and he was still visiting the Buddhist temple.
Through all this he was still trying to help and please other people even though he was going through a great personal crisis.
We all wish we could have helped him overcome his illness, but we couldn’t. No one can be blamed for what happened.
But let’s all remember Andrew for being a wonderful bloke. Let’s remember him for the generous, kind hearted, loyal and loving person that he was. Thankyou.