Vale John 'Jack' Swinbourne
 

My grandfather John died last night, peacefully at 99 years of age. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather and always had a smile even when things were at their blackest.

His last years were not altogether happy ones with the passing of his eldest son, my father, Robert in 2006 and his wife Rhoda in 2008.

I will always love and remember my Poppa John.

"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man."

Peace be with you, friend, in your time of mourning.


Those who are gone are never truly gone. They live forever - in our heards and our minds, and in the bodies of our children.

I'm terribly sorry to hear of your sad loss my friend.

He'll always be around you know...you simply have to keep him in your memory and communicate with him often.

What a sh!te six months in RL terms the Grey Wolves are experiencing :nope:

RIP Mr Swinbourne, at least he's with his son and wife now. No parent should outlive their children.

I am very sorry to hear of your loss.

May his soul find its rest in the hand of the Creator, and may you and your family find solace in the cherished memories you share of him.

Very sorry to hear that, Grant.

I'm sorry too. At least he had a good long life.

My condolences to you and your family TarJak.

Hey Grant, My prayers go out to you and your family. Sorry to hear about your familes loss.:cry:

My thoughts will also be with you and yours. So sorry for your loss.

Thank you all for your kind words. In the end he had a good run and certainly a long a full life. I'll cherish his memory and keep it close to my heart until the day I die.

Do you have any good stories of fond memories you wouldn't mind sharing?

I'll always remember his stories. He worked for a major brewery here in Sydney from way back in the 1930's through until his retirement in the 1970's. Some of the stories he told were quite funny. One particular one sticks in my mind;

At lunch time the workers in the brewery were given a tallie (longneck or 750ml bottle), each day at lunch. The system was they all lined up and the bottles were issued througha window. Some of the workers attempted all sorts of weird disguises to obtain more than one bottle. There was one bloke who, every day turned up twice to the windwo with glasses on or glasses off, and everyday the woman behind the window told him to bugger off, but everyday he turned up with the same attempts to get an extra bottle of beer.

His job (Sales and Marketing Manager) also led him to meet several interesting sporting characters including Don Bradman (a teetotaller), whom the drinkers in the Australian Cricket Team at the time were very untrusting of.

I also recall a story he told me about a French Rugby player who could place kick goals from just about anywhere on the ground including from the cornerpost on the goal line where the goals he was aiming for were located.

There were many more and I don't know how many were true or false but he was always good for a story.

I also remember many of the family BBQ's we had in his backyard, the food, the drink and the atmosphere whilst difficult to articulate here are just really powerful memories for me.

TarJak, Sincere Condolences. May you treasure your memories always and pass them to your heirs so they remain alive.