Raymond Noel Jennings's memory board

On behalf of Christopher, Deborah, Anthony and myself we would like to thank you for joining us today in remembering our father also known as Raymond, Ray, Hon, Dad, Daddy, Fart, Grandpa, Pa, Unca Ray, Uncle Ray, Mr. J., Silly Old Bugger, The Silver Fox, El Presidante and of course Seargent Raymond Jennings NX 128299. That’s all we have time for thank you very much! Dad......Raymond Noel Jennings, born on the 23 February 1923 in Petersham. The much loved bouncing blue eyed baby boy of Florence and William. Brother to Ron, Reg and Daphny. Dad always had many stories of his childhood. For many childhood years each one of us have been scarred by Dad’s childhood stories of walking in potato sacks wrapped around his feet in the snow which we were led to believe regularly fell at Petersham. He would walk to Balmain swimming pool with his lifelong mate Nev. He would speak of the horrors of the depression with stories of dripping sandwiches and left over soup that was always served in a loving environment with loving parents. At the tender age of eighteen Dad enlisted with his lifelong friend Nev in the Australian Imperial Army and was sent to New Guinea during the Second World War where he remained until 1946. He returned to the ample bosom of his mother, Florence. Not long after arriving home whilst attending a party he saw the angelic aura of a young lady from Mosman who we now know became his lifelong partner and wife, Joan Browning Jennings nee Steinthal. Whilst courting Mum he was introduced and embraced by the wonderful Steinthal family. This relationship has proven to be a lifelong love which has been extending to our cousins Carolyn and John (who are here today) and their respective families. Dad always treasured the memories he had of being made to feel special in regular luncheons and functions with Carolyn and Martelle and the Greiner family. They all have such a special place in our heart and we want you to know how much you enriched Dad’s life with these treasured moments in time. Dad finally made an honest woman of Mum and they were married at Mosman Methodist Church on the 23 July 1949. After a brief few years in Mosman and after the birth of the first son, Christopher, to the horror of Mum’s Mosman family, Dad hitched the wagon up in 1955 and travelled to the wilds of Chester Hill, where they remained for thirty eight years and raised their family. With a continued twinkle in his eye he knew the best was yet to come. That twinkle came to fruition with the birth of three more children, Deborah, Anthony and after three attempts at perfection they were finally gifted with me. We have all put our two cents in to collate just a few memories of our life with Dad. He was the BHP of fatherhood......the quiet achiever! It only took one look over the top of the paper to know without a shadow of a doubt we were not allowed to change the TV channel after he had fallen asleep half a dozen times. And just between all of us there were years we all thought Dad was blind as he rarely opened his eyes past 6:30pm. We were forced to mix our chocolate sauce into our ice cream with extreme caution due to Dad’s sensitive hearing and lived in fear of scorn if he found hidden peas under the potato at washing up time. Not that there was much left on the Jennings dinner plates after the feeding of the herd. Quite often we were requested not to eat the patterns off the plates. We all have memories of many laughs whilst being inflicted with the family slide night which covered Mum and Dad’s trips to Fiji, U.S.A., New Zealand, Japan and many highlights in Australia. All jokes aside Dad was always actively involved in our lives. Dad was part of our scouting lives and our school lives with him being the President of the Parents and Citizens Association. His expertise was extended when he and Anthony’s wife Deb were Anthony’s support team during a kayak race up the Murray River. We remember Dad’s face during the many heated discussions on just whose car was leaving the oil patch on the driveway and front grass. One cannot let this day pass without mentioning the many, many, many times Dad had to repaint the front porch due to Deborah’s practicing tape dancing. We have many fond memories of the family picnics which often included aunties, uncles and cousins and were filled with love and laughter. In an attempt to keep the herd fed and watered Dad had his nose to the grindstone for over thirty five odd years with the American company, International Harvester. His commitment and dedication saw him rise through the ranks to Supply Manager for N.S.W. to which Dad had many fond memories and made lifelong friends. Dad retired at the age of 58 which saw him able to enjoy a long retirement with Mum. Dad enjoyed retirement with interests including reading, movies, music and of course the beach! He was known to have supersonic hearing able to hear show tunes and elevator music from a kilometre away. Inevitably he always was tapping his foot and whistling! He was known for his role as the El Presidante completing movie reports via email to many of us sharing his views and awarding choc top scores out of five. Oh how we are going to miss those reports! Over the years of a loving home life one at a time we broke loose from the herd and followed our own trail. We will always remember our wonderful loving caring parents who instilled life lessons in us that we hold dear t o this day. Dad slipped seamlessly into his role as father in law, grandfather and great grandfather. He was blessed with ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren and adored them all. Never a birthday was forgotten even after the passing of Mum sixteen years ago he took his role very seriously as she would have wanted. Dad’s life changed considerably when Mum passed on the 8 December 1997. The void would never be filled but thanks to our upbringing our love drew us all together to support Dad and each other. On behalf of my brothers and sister and their significant others, Anthony’s wife Deb and my wife Cathy, I would like to say thank you to a remarkable man who will always remain in our hearts and as with Mum will always be remembered with our eternal love and affection. GRANDKIDS I have been asked by the grandchildren to read just some of their fondest memories of their grandfather. To save sitting here for the next hour we have picked a few highlights. Dean writes how Grandpa would always ask for the wrapping from the kids Easter eggs and show us how to make a goblet. Dean always said that he was very proud to have made Grandpa a Great Father with the birth of his daughter, Amelia Jessica remembered in a letter to Grandpa. My greatest memory of you that I will cherish for the rest of my life is the amount of love that you had for each one of us. You always wanted to know what was happening in our lives, no matter how small and inconsequential we thought it was, and you celebrated each one of our successes right alongside of us. I remember your home being filled with photos of our family and you were so very proud of being our Grandpa and we are so very proud and lucky to be called your grandchildren. Your loving and kind soul will always be missed, but we will bring your memory with us through all of our lives. Sharon remembers how Grandpa always use to leave his sunglasses on inside houses and ask why it was so dark in there. It always made us laugh! On a serious note though she wrote that Grandpa taught her that love is what makes a family, not their blood. He is the only grandparent she truly knew he wasn’t hers by kin but he accepted her and her sisters as is. Because of him they all fe4lt love unlike any other, the love of a grandpa! She will forever be thankful for that. Matthew wrote how Grandpa never forgot anyone’s birthday and would send a card with attention to detail decorating with stickers reflecting what each child’s interest was. Robert (who is a current serving officer in the Australian Air force) writes how disturbed he was with Grandfather’s in depth description of his enlistment medical exam. Felicity always has, and always will, consider Grandpa one of the most important people in her life and an axis of her immediate family. He was always there for her and her Mum. She reflects that he was always someone who she could and would talk to about everything. He was always there to support her and never missed an event in her life, be it of great or minimal significance. She will always keep Grandpa in her heart and keep his memory alive in the future. She will always love him very much. Thomas remembers how Grandpa always was interested in what you had to say and always had time to sit and chat about school, sport and other interests. An d also how Grandpa never left home without spraying a can of KO to ensure his hair would remain perfect. Erin writes that she always remembers how Grandpa was always interested in the things she was interested in, especially what Sea Shepard was up to and wether Paul Watson was free yet? Abby writes that she used to love the family get togethers and that Grandpa ALWAYS ended up with chips down the front of his shirt, everyone used to love saying that he had a chip on his shoulder to be met with that same chuckle everytime. Ben writes how Grandpa would always pay him $10 to go to school and keep his room clean and small bonuses for good school reports. Ben was quite concerned who was going to drink the solo now but I assured him we will keep the solo dream alive! Thank you.