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| type = letter | authors = HMH | places = | people = HMH; Alf; VMI
Transcription
I had been at the hospital three times a day & I am thankful for Dad's merciful end without pain or fear. Bib has had a stroke & is in Avro, can't gather my tired wits. Love to you all. I hope you're feeling better about things & that you have planned a path for the new year — may it be happy & successful. Love M.
36 Congdon St.,
Swanbourne,
15th Jany. 1963.
Tuesday.
My dear Alf,
I simply must get a letter in to the post to you to tell you that Dad died suddenly on Friday 11th & was cremated yesterday — a long delay because of the weekend.
I can't remember when I last wrote you but probably when I was staying at Mandurah for a week after Xmas. When I got home on the Saturday I could see Dad had deteriorated a great deal — he continued to have one or two dreadfully breathless attacks each day for the next four days & he asked to go to Bethesda last Tuesday so he could have oxygen. He improved immediately & was able to eat again & became stronger & was to be allowed up on the Friday. On Friday morning he had a good breakfast & asked Mrs Bell (Board of Management, St Aidens) in the opposite
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bed to ring for the nurse to take him to the bathroom. Mrs Bell did this & walked over to Dad's bed to help him out & in the time it took to walk across the room, Dad slumped on to pillows with a coronary & was gone. They rang for the Dr & as they did he walked in the front door to do an early round & so was with Dad within about four minutes.
With all the times I've been ready for Dad to go I was quite unprepared when Leigh Cook rand at 8{{sup|15}} to tell me. I'd only just come in from swimming training with the boys. I rang Maurice in Sydney to tell Joan, Berry in Mandurah to tell Con, Alan Kopke at the Station & so on & don't seem to have stopped since. Con came up & stayed until after the funeral early yesterday. Ian Berryman came the 180 miles from the farm (I don't quite know why except that Con's wire got distorted & read "Grandma died this morning" & he didn't know which one. We haven't told Helen Rose this one, knowing how superstitious she is). Mother, incidentally has been very good indeed through all this
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My friends have been wonderful to me — calling in, letters, telegrams, & so on & the house is full of flowers. Con, Berry, Ian Berryman, Alan & I went to the funeral together which was a cremation service. There were 50 men attended & a couple of women. (Joyce Irving & Dad's Goddaughters). Paul Hasluck, Dr Guy Henn, Commander Hodge Ken Rosenthal were there — right on through to Kynaston the boot maker. Dad would have considered it a really fine funeral! All the people he ever knew & were still alive seemed to be there — such a lot of Nor'westers.
There were a few times when I could have done with Alfie Thrupp as a backstop but we managed. Con insisted on changing the house around whilst she & Ian were here to help & now it is all done. The dining room is re-instated, as is the T.V. room & Ron is in the sleepout & Alan, of course, is your room. Con attacked the books & threw half of them out in the woodshed & I'll get Ron Wright from the Public Library & the Historical Society, to vet them before dumping or burning them.
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Joan had the Martins to cheer her bleakness over the weekend & now you'll be seeing them next. Uncle Norman said he's written & given you the gen.
Do please send us a note soon to give us some clues as to your plans. I do wonder what you've decided.
Please tell your mother that her parcel has awaiting me when I got home from Mandurah. I'll be writing as soon as possible there are about a hundred letters to be acknowledged around the place but we'll split them up between the four of us.
Alan got all his 8 junior subjects & Jim his II, Penny Preston (8) Oh, Bruce May only get 3 or 4 — he rang to see you & I gave him your address. McAlland was the only boy to fail in 5P & only 5 of the other 26 got less than 8 subjects. Hugh Rockett & Brian Holmes 3 a piece only. I gather Scotch did very well.
Was agreeably surprised to have a note from Don Kilby asking if he could help in one way — wasn't it nice of him?
Jan Ing has a son & they are all right.
I'll be glad when it is about a month from now — my built in alarm clock still goes off at 7, 4 30 & 10 30 to do Dad's eyes. Death is always very sobering & inescapably sad.
Letter to Alf regarding Dad's death.
H.M.W.