John Francis Lunn
Formerly of Swansea
1948 – 2008 aged 60
Passed away after a long illness June 1, 2008
MAREE, FLORENCE and TED (dec.), MICHELLE and MURRAY, BEN and SHAYNA, RAY (dec.), DAVID, KATRINA and JOSHUA warmly invited Family and Friends to the celebration of life for their beloved husband, son, father, brother and poppy.
JOHN`S celebration held at Lake Macquarie Memorial Park, Palmers Road, Ryhope, on WEDNESDAY (4/6/2008), commencing at 9.30 a.m.
“Always In Our Hearts”
Ph 4956 4221
A Tribute from Maree
In Memory Of You
By: Kristi A. Dyer
As I feel your presence anew,
I am filled with warmth and my heart remembers love.
I read an old card sent many years ago during a time of turmoil and confusion.
The soothing words written then still caress my spirit and bring me peace.
I remember who you used to be the laughter we shared and wonder what you have become.
Where are you now, Where did you go, When the body is left behind and the spirit is released to fly?
Perhaps you are the morning bird singing joyfully at sunrise, or the butterfly that dances so carelessly on the breeze or the rainbow of colors that brightens a stormy sky or the fingers of afternoon mist delicately reaching over the mountains or the final few rays of the setting sun lighting up the skies
edging the clouds with a magical glow.
I miss your being but I feel your presence, In whatever form you choose to take,
however you now choose to be.
Your spirit has become for me a guardian angel on high guiding, advising, and watching over me.
I remember you.
You are with me and I am not afraid.
“ Love you Johnny, always have, always will, Maree”
Dear John
As Michael said this is the end of another era.
I just want to thank you for everything you have done for me and my family over the years. You were always there to help with anything we needed, you built Greg’s minibike trailer, took everyone down to the snow and spend valuable skiing time teaching them to ski (I think I was your only failure there). You fixed the boys bikes, motorbikes and anything they needed fixing. You took
.
I remember one funny night when we all went to the drive in together, you had the kombi van and Rowan had a van of some type, both vehicles were backed up to the sites with the back doors/windows open, we put all the kids in one van and partied in the other……did we ever see the movie….I think we just had heaps of fun.
You saw a funny side in everything in life and lived life to the fullest. I remember there were always parties and music and laughter. A tip to Old Sydney Town was another memorable occasion…….Laugh!!!
We had some very happy times and some very sad times over the years which is all part of life I guess.
I remember our trips back from the snowy of a Sunday night with you guys in the silver Honda and us in my Ford V8 with you leading the way and giving me signals when it was safe for me to overtake the vehicles, I put so much trust in your judgement and just did what you signalled on blind corners etc where you were far enough ahead that you could see the oncoming traffic ….we had fun.
You had so many interests over the years and I will probably forget some of them here but the ones I am aware of are soccer, surfing, sailing, car rallies (oh my god, do you remember the Renault) motor bike riding as well as push bike riding, a bit of water skiing and not to mention the love of your life, snow skiing. All of that as well as non sporting interest ie politics, union and general discussion about just about anything.
We also had some good trips…..remember Tassie…..bike riding….enough said on that one.
John, you will be missed so much and even though we haven’t really had you for quite some years now you will always be in our hearts and we will always make a toast to an “absent friend” whenever we are having our “get togethers”.
Loads and loads of Love John
Laurie
There is nothing in this life that hurts more than a parent losing a much loved child, today I am coming to understand that John has gone from my sight forever and it is breaking my heart.and I don`t know how I am going to cope.
Eulogy for John Lunn
We are here to celebrate the life of John Lunn, who finally passed away, in the arms of Maree, peacefully, aged 60 years, on Sunday morning, June 1 2008, after a long battle with illness. John was the much-loved son of Florence and Ted, brother of Ray and David, father of Michelle, (his daughter from his marriage to Veronica) and Step-Father to Shayna and Ben. He was Grandfather – (“Poppy”) to Katrina and Joshua. John was also a much-loved friend to so many people.
Let us choose today and from now on, to focus on the joy that resulted from our times and interactions with John during his life. His memory will always be with us. His larrikin, restless, funny and energetic spirit and his great strength, which came through so strongly throughout his life, can still be felt.
You will know that John enjoyed living his experiences at full throttle. Never one to do something by halves, he was a passionate, courageous and sometimes crazy participant in whatever was going.
As it became evident over recent months that John may not survive his illness, many people have contributed stories about experiences they have shared with John over the years.
First of all, a message from Maree:
“I first met John at Nadya’s wedding on 4th December 1998. We became friends and met regularly over the years at the Chami’s. We first went out on my birthday in 2002. It was to Catho Pub for a ball. We danced all night and had the funniest evening. Jimmy Stewart met us at the door with bear slippers on his feet. Catho was also the last place I took John to. We went there the day before he went into care. Jimmy was with us that day, too. It was always special for us. We would go there on a Sunday, after a long bike ride on the Yamaha 750, up to Wollombi, or along the old highway to Sydney. We would listen to the music, yarn to friends, meet up with Michelle, Murray and Flo and have a quiet drink.
“Some Sunday mornings, we would pack a picnic, get Flo and go and sit near the beach, enjoy the view and have breakfast.
“John told me that it took about a week for him to fall in love with me. It always felt right to us, like we were always meant to be together. Our love got us through many difficult days and it was with the greatest joy that we could marry and plan a future together. He loved family life and welcomed Ben and Shayna into his life with great joy and pride. He delighted in Ben’s sailing stories and learnt to love Byron Bay as much as Shayna does.
“We both enjoyed the outdoors life and John taught me how to ride a road bike. One Easter, he and Johnny Crossley took me on a long ride through the back country around Berridale. I kept crashing and falling off the bike; the first few times they would pick me up, dust me down and send me on my way. I remember riding down a hill and seeing the two Johns waiting patiently for me. Yet again, I was so excited, because I was managing to stay upright and clipped in. As I got closer, I couldn’t get my feet out and fell, just in front of them. They looked at me, looked at each other, threw up their hands and said “Oh, just leave her!” We laughed so hard and had so much fun together.
“I was a sailor and John taught me how to ski. He always believed that I could learn and insisted from the beginning that one day I would ski Jackson Hole, in Wyoming with him. I thought he was crazy, but he was right. I remember the first time he took me skiing at Thredbo. I was so exhausted that I could hardly move. We were sitting in the Berridale Pub, having a glass of wine before dinner. John looked across the table at me, as I struggled to raise my arm and said: ‘Honey, if you were a dog, I would shoot you.’
We skied Thredbo often those first few Winters and once we got caught in a blizzard at Perisher, with our friend, Diana.
“We had two fabulous skiing holidays with Mike and Mary Kay Kelly in Colorado. We traveled to New Mexico and Jackson Hole, in Wyoming, with them and spent one October in Colorado enjoying the American Fall. We rode our bikes around Lake Dillon. It was incredibly beautiful, surrounded by trees in all the shades of yellow, red and orange. We went jeeping in the mountains with his old friends from Georgetown on old railway tracks to 12,000 feet. At times, the driver would have to do a 3 point turn to change directions on the switchbacks and the jeep would face directly down the mountain. We got a bit unnerved when we noticed the wife of the driver started to get out and wait for him to do the turns!
“One memory that so reminds me of John, was the day he took me in a snow cat to ski in the National Park somewhere near Silverthorne. Mike would remember the place. He was there. I was terrified. There were two guides and eight of us. The rest were highly experienced skiers, including Dave McCloskey, who thrived on black runs. I kept telling John I would only ski down if I felt I could; otherwise I was staying with the snow cat and taking photos. We got to the top. I think it was around 12000 feet. We all got out and the guides gave us survival packs to strap on in case we got caught in an avalanche. I turned around and I remember seeing the snow cat moving slowly back down the mountain. I nearly died of fright and I remember Mike saying to me, “just breathe”. He could see how scared I was. John just smiled at me and told me that I could ski down, he believed in me, as he always did and again I found the courage to do what I thought I could never do. It was such an exhilarating day and I skied that mountain, top to bottom, three times. Each run would take about an hour through the National Park.
“We travelled through five states in Australia together, sightseeing, riding, walking, and meeting up with old friends and family. We always enjoyed the quiet things together, listening to music, sharing a meal with our friends with a glass of wine and talking and telling stories. John always made friends easily.
“As John’s illness progressed, we spent nearly all our time together and always managed to find joy in each day. We spent hours in the garden and took long drives just to enjoy the scenery. Towards the end, when things were so hard for John, we would sit at the lookout on the Esplanade at Caves Beach and look out to sea and just enjoy the quiet moments together.
“John has always found a way to connect with people and he kept the essence of himself all through his illness. Everyone who visited John felt his presence and felt the love we shared.
“John always showed immense courage and dignity. He knew what was happening to him and was always more concerned about how I would be without him than the losses he was experiencing. John always believed that he could do anything and he did. He never gave up, he laughed long and loud, he loved well and unconditionally. “
During John’s last week, Maree was with John twenty-four hours a day, giving him loving support the whole way through. She said that she is so grateful for all the joy and love they shared and the memories that will stay with her forever, but that there are no words for the grief she feels.
John’s Mum, Florence and Brother, David:
“I would like to say for myself and David, that life with John as a son and brother has been a real privilege. We love him dearly and will miss him badly. He has always been a caring member of our family, even if his warped sense of humor sometimes caused some raised eyebrows.
Flo recalls a story of John at the age of four: “My father and uncle were having a conversation one morning about the cold spell of weather we were having. (We were living in the Blue Mountains at the time). John, or Snow, (as my Father always called him), was taking in the conversation until he thought it was time for him to impart some important information of his own. He began tugging at my Father’s sleeve. When asked what he wanted, he replied: ‘I will tell you something else, COAL BURNS BETTER IF YOU PEE ON IT!’ So, with our present cool spell, this little gem is worth keeping in mind. Thanks John.
“Ted and I returned home from holidays a day earlier than expected, to find John, Ray, David and Jimmy Stewart busily repainting the hall and lounge room of our home and in response to our looks, simply said “don`t ask”. It must have been some party!
“Another time, John was driving around and around the block in his car with Michelle aged around five, in the boot, to see if she could tell him where a mystery rattle was coming from.
Florence and David said that “Our beloved John was certainly a master of zany situations and we love him very much.”
Mike Kelley:
“When I first met John about 20 years ago at Jackson Hole we became very good friends and he came every year after that to Jackson Hole and Colorado to ski. Much of the time he stayed with the Colorado Guys at the Vill
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