Colin John Thornby

When my brother got sick and started very seriously contemplating the end of his life he started considering options for burial and memorials.  At the time we, his family, didn’t know about it but he was talking to a good friend of his – Jane – about the matter.  She suggested he write out what he wanted for the memorial himself.

To fully appreciate what happened next you need to understand what kind of a man my brother was in one very important respect: he was used to running things.  He was a natural leader and very accustomed to being in charge.  Writing out lesson plans for his classes (and his partner’s), sermons for his fellow Christians, advice for the people he gave spiritual guidance for – and that’s only in his later life.  Since we were kids he was the one standing up and speaking, making sure everyone was on time, working out who was to bring what and when they had to do their thing (depending on the situation).

Colin agreed that writing his own memorial would be a good idea and so he did.

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My oldest brother, Colin John Thornby, has joined those who came before.  He died peacefully in the Royal Melbourne Hospital on the 1st of July, 2013, at 6:43pm after a long and hard struggle against a chest infection following a bone marrow transplant.  His lungs gave out and he passed away after the medical staff determined that there was nothing more they could do for him.

It’s difficult to find words worthy of him to put down on digital page.  Finding words isn’t difficult in general but most of them are trite, obscene or both.  But to put down how much my brother meant to me and how much he will be missed, by myself and others…  As someone who uses language not only as a tool of communication (as we all do) but a medium of creative expression I find that there are times when words simply… aren’t enough.  They don’t do the job. Continue reading →