[Pil-pc-oceania] Tribute to my dad

[Kerry Dawborn]

Wow Fern - thanks for sharing that... Sounds like your dad was a really 
interesting, thoughtful man. Clearly his positive influence on you has 
been extremely strong... Your eulogy has brought tears to my eyes...

Kerry Dawborn


Fern Rainbow wrote:
> My dad's service, a celebration of his life will be held at the Warrnambool
> Special Developmental School hall this Thursday, February 28th at 5pm.
> I'd like to thank the many permies on this listserv who have emailed me
> their support & help during the last few weeks.  As none of you know dad,
> I'd like to post some info and photos of my dad.
> Firstly, this is my contribution and what I'll be reading out, near the end
> of his service.  I'll post the full service and photos in the coming weeks.
>
>
> Tribute to my dad ­ Peter Thomas Ockerby
>  
> Dad was an environmentalist, scientist and teacher.
> He was part of a research team at the University of Toronto in the early
> 1960¹s looking into the declining aquatic life in the Great Lakes.  They
> were studying the water currents.  When their research pointed to pollution
> due to the heated waste-water being pumped from the nearby Nuclear power
> plant, all their research and funding disappeared.
>  
> Dad then obtained his teaching qualifications and started teaching science
> in Canada.  Deeply concerned about environmental issues, he tried to teach
> what was then called ³the hot-house effect² but was reprimanded for teaching
> this theory.  [He was also not allowed to teach Hubbard's peak oil theory, a
> well known but controversial scientific paper in the 1960¹s]
>  
> After his mother died, Dad moved back to Australia and started teaching at
> Melbourne Boys High (the school that he was educated at).  Dad was a very
> patient and well-liked teacher.  He liked teaching at nice small secondary
> schools in rural areas and stayed teaching full time until his retirement at
> 60 years of age.
>  
> In 1969 he met then married my mum the year after.  They were both avid
> organic gardeners and shared their love of nature and care of the
> environment.  Really they were permaculturists before the word
> ³Permaculture² existed, and we always had a menagerie of animals that helped
> our edible jungle-like garden grow and vice-versa.
> >From the early 70¹s, they started to look for land to share nature with
> like-minded people and to bring up their children with a free and healthy
> lifestyle.  In 1974 they were part of the formation of ³Irun-ilam-baluk², a
> land co-operative in the Strathbogie ranges based on Peter Cook¹s design of
> Moora Moora co-operative.  There they started building their self-sufficient
> home out in the bush.  They were full of ideals, hopes and dreams.
> But working on the co-operative, building their home and living out of a
> caravan with five children in a harsh environment created strains within my
> parent¹s relationship. Their break up started in 1975 and ended with a
> divorce in 1982.   Although they spent my childhood apart, I have fond
> memories of visiting dad; going yabbying, visiting the butterfly house at
> Melbourne zoo and dad reading ³The hobbit² to me when I was sick and in bed.
>  
> My parents got back together again when I was 15 and had Davin, my younger
> brother who is autistic.  For the past 15 years while my parents have
> dedicated their lives to looking after Davin, they have maintained an edible
> garden and implemented energy efficient designs and systems within their
> urban home.  In the past two years, since moving to a smaller home they have
> been retrofitting it; putting on solar panels, tiling the floor to create a
> heat bank, putting in a water tank, edible garden and fruit trees, with
> plans for a greywater system and chook house.
>  
> Dad always said to just put him in the compost when he died and mum & dad
> hadn¹t discussed anything else.  But dad had seen the 100% recycled
> cardboard eco-coffins in Choice magazine last year and had thought it to be
> such a good idea.  Dad would¹ve wanted his departure to be as low as impact
> upon the earth as possible.
>  
> He wanted a safe and secure future for his children and for earth¹s
> biodiversity.  He wanted the Victorian state government to extend the ban on
> GM crops and for all GM ingredients to be labelled on our food. He wanted
> Australia to be GM-free.
> On this final day before the GM moratorium is set to be lifted in Victoria,
> we hope that somehow dad¹s wishes will be granted and that premier John
> Brumby will rethink the state governments decision to lift the ban.
>  
> My parent¹s love of nature and care of the environment has been imparted to
> me, not only by my nature name ³Fern Rainbow², that they gave to me, but
> also imprinted in my knowledge, ethics and lifestyle and for this I am
> eternally grateful.  Thank you dad.  You are in my heart and forever will
> be.    
>  
>  
> Music-----Big Yellow Taxi,
>                        Both sides now, ------Joni Mitchell
>
>
>
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