Jason EganA Tribute
January 10th 2011 11:48
Last week my Grandmother passed away. She was 91 and today was her funeral. I thought long and hard about the merits of posting the Eulogy that i recited there today. I came to the conclusion that as a final gift to her i could give her some degree of immortality if i was to post today. I feel as long as this blog remains therefore so her memory too, hopefully long after i have left the building, so to speak. She was a wonderful women and my only regret is that she will never get to meet my firstborn. At least she knew about her (yes it's a girl) so i am grateful for that. As she was cremated today, although her body no longer exists i can ensure that she is remembered not only by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and her friends but she is also known about the world over. RIP Betty Pearce.
'My earliest memories of Nana extend to the times when as a child, she would take me and Cindy, along with her friend Shirley Supple, to see her beloved Richmond play football. I myself came from a Hawthorn family but it didn’t take her long to convert me into a full-blooded Richmond supporter. Her joy and passion for the game quickly rubbed off on this impressionable young 8 year old. She would prepare and pack sandwiches and drinks in a basket and then we’d all take the train to wherever theTigers were playing that week. In fact being a young lad my vocabulary was definitely heightened by Nana’s passion for the game and I defy any bloody mongrels to say otherwise.
As Nana grew older and was no longer able to go to the games herself, you would still find her glued to her television and then as her sight failed, to the radio still garnering pleasure from her mighty tiges. Any time I went to visit her she was always up for a discussion about Richmond even in later years when there wasn’t really much positive to say about them, she still managed to stay true.
Nana loved to take us out on trips being to the shops or to the movies and did her best to sit through movies that probably weren’t her cup of tea. Not sure if she was trying to get me back but when I was about 10 I was taken over to my 2nd cousins house with the promise of seeing a great movie on this new home video contraption. With pent up excitement we ended up sitting down and watching the entire video of “On Golden Pond”, which as a 10 year old is the equivalent of sitting down and watching her knit for 2 hours. It still leaves me scarred to this day, thanks Nana.
I remember staying over with her and Papa several times where Nana taught me some card games such as Gin Rummy and 500. We did that for quite a while until I started winning too often, funny about that. After she moved to Walmsley her love of games remained as she was often out visiting friends playing cards and scrabble which I believe she became a master at. I never challenged her to a game of scrabble there because with my vocabulary the way it is, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.
And I have to mention another little game she was fond of…pokies. Every now and then she would disappear from Walmsley for a few hours in the afternoon and not tell anyone where she was going. Nana and Ruby, her partner in crime, would sneak off as usual without telling anybody out a side door and would meet up with the taxi a little way down the road to take them to a local club. This plan worked well for quite a while until one time where they had no money left for their return taxi trip. The club then had to phone Walmsley and a staff member had to go and pick up the devious duo and bring them home. I believe they kept more of an eye on them after that incident.
Nana was loved by us all and her caring nature will never be forgotten.
Rest In Peace Nana
We’ll have a Shandie for you.'
May she live on.......
'My earliest memories of Nana extend to the times when as a child, she would take me and Cindy, along with her friend Shirley Supple, to see her beloved Richmond play football. I myself came from a Hawthorn family but it didn’t take her long to convert me into a full-blooded Richmond supporter. Her joy and passion for the game quickly rubbed off on this impressionable young 8 year old. She would prepare and pack sandwiches and drinks in a basket and then we’d all take the train to wherever theTigers were playing that week. In fact being a young lad my vocabulary was definitely heightened by Nana’s passion for the game and I defy any bloody mongrels to say otherwise.
As Nana grew older and was no longer able to go to the games herself, you would still find her glued to her television and then as her sight failed, to the radio still garnering pleasure from her mighty tiges. Any time I went to visit her she was always up for a discussion about Richmond even in later years when there wasn’t really much positive to say about them, she still managed to stay true.
Nana loved to take us out on trips being to the shops or to the movies and did her best to sit through movies that probably weren’t her cup of tea. Not sure if she was trying to get me back but when I was about 10 I was taken over to my 2nd cousins house with the promise of seeing a great movie on this new home video contraption. With pent up excitement we ended up sitting down and watching the entire video of “On Golden Pond”, which as a 10 year old is the equivalent of sitting down and watching her knit for 2 hours. It still leaves me scarred to this day, thanks Nana.
I remember staying over with her and Papa several times where Nana taught me some card games such as Gin Rummy and 500. We did that for quite a while until I started winning too often, funny about that. After she moved to Walmsley her love of games remained as she was often out visiting friends playing cards and scrabble which I believe she became a master at. I never challenged her to a game of scrabble there because with my vocabulary the way it is, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.
And I have to mention another little game she was fond of…pokies. Every now and then she would disappear from Walmsley for a few hours in the afternoon and not tell anyone where she was going. Nana and Ruby, her partner in crime, would sneak off as usual without telling anybody out a side door and would meet up with the taxi a little way down the road to take them to a local club. This plan worked well for quite a while until one time where they had no money left for their return taxi trip. The club then had to phone Walmsley and a staff member had to go and pick up the devious duo and bring them home. I believe they kept more of an eye on them after that incident.
Nana was loved by us all and her caring nature will never be forgotten.
Rest In Peace Nana
We’ll have a Shandie for you.'
May she live on.......
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