Robert George Weller's memory board

Robert, George Weller, a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, teacher, coach, referee, volunteer, teammate, peer, mentor and friend to countless people in his 70 years. An unselfish man, his success is defined not by material possessions or awards, but by the success of others. Bob relished in helping people achieve no matter how seemingly insignificant or monumental the task at hand. He believed in you. Known by many names; Bob, Robbity Bob, Smeller Weller, Uncle Bob, Pop, Robert George Aliouicous Brainstorm Weller and you bloody bastard, Robert George Weller was born in Gympie on the 12th of September, 1947, to parents Daphne and George approximately 9 months and 1-2 days after George returned from WWII POW camp repatriation. Older brother to Fay and Neil, Bob was an inquisitive and active child, which at times exasperated his mother and drew the ire of his father as he tested boundaries and patience like all good little boys. Bob's exuberance would at times get the best of him and exhaust his mother's patience. As part punishment/part relief, Daphne would lock Bob in the bathroom for his father to deal with upon his return from the butcher shop. The larrikin couldn't stay locked up for long though, climbing out the second story window onto the tank stand where he could let his freedom and intentions be known to the world and his mates waiting outside, extra punishment be damned! Bob was a gifted student, graduating from his title of swearing champion of One Mile Primary school to Dux of Gympie High in his senior year and one of the top students in the state. It was at high school that Bob discovered his mathematic ability, excelled in the sciences and learnt a passable German. Bob's love of sport, in particular Rugby League, was formed during these years. Never the fastest or most talented player, he made up for it in passion, grit and hard work. After leaving school, Bob moved to Brisbane to undertake his Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Queensland, residing at Union College. Bob often used to revel in the fact that he was banned for life from the carpark at Union College for doing doughnuts in his car. He also often told the story of being the only first year in the Engineers boat racing team (now for those who don't know what that was, it involved drinking a lot of beer really fast). Bob's first year academic results were not the best, but he received high distinctions in his social life. Following a brief detour to the mines in Broken Hill, Bob followed the footsteps of his mother, and went to teacher's college in Kelvin Grove. Bob's first teaching assignment was in Proston and Bob sure made his mark. He always reminisced about playing rugby league for Wondai and often talked about his exploits and playing against the great Bunny Pearce. Whilst in Proston, Bob formed a band with some local mates and they named themselves Les Garcon (which means the boys in French). Well this name didn't last long as the less cultured folk of the town quickly renamed the band Les Garkin and the boys. He loved his piano and you would often hear Bob twinkling away on the keys in his spare time. Bob also had a passion for cars, loud and fast is how he loved them. He owned a lot, crashed most of them… After his time in Proston, Bob moved to Imbil to start teaching at the Secondary School. He met many life-long friends during his time there, including, Father Michael Carroll, Tony and Sheryl Guthrie, Kevin and Carol Holzapfel, Jill and Gary Buchanan and Robyn and John Dorosinksi. A theme for Bob's life was immersing himself in the community. He was an active member of the Imbil SES, championed the building of the Imbil Swimming Pool and was an active user of the facilities provided by the Railway Hotel. Teaching in Imbil was a social affair and teachers from the region often got together to party and socialise. It was during this time, that Bob was at a dance in Kenilworth and he laid eyes on the beautiful 20-year-old teacher Robyn McMillen. Ever the competitive one, he made a bet with one of his mates "may the best man win" for the privilege of courting Robyn. Well the smiling larrikin won the bet and a whirlwind romance ensued over the 1973/74 school holidays. During a visit to his parents in Gympie in late January 1974, which happened to be one of the wettest Januarys in history, flooding the Mary River and leaving George and Daphne's house an island for several days, they became engaged. The story Bob liked to tell was that the lack of beer in the house led him to go a little stir crazy and he asked Robyn to marry him. (Mum had little more romantic recollection, but let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story!) He knew he was on to a good thing with the beautiful, determined and highly intelligent woman Robyn was and this led to 43 wonderful years of marriage. Mum and Bob were married on the 21st of December 1974 and soon after they enjoyed their honeymoon house boating on the Hawkesbury River. Then it was back to their house in Imbil to enjoy the calm before the storm. As Bob and Robyn settled into married life in Imbil, they decided they wanted to start a family, they often discussed wanting a big family and their wishes were fulfilled, it all started in May 1979, when the eldest Anthony Robert was born. Not far behind Tony was the little footy opponent Gregory Campbell, born just 19 months later in December 1980. To close out the trio of boys, along came me, Matthew George, born on Father's Day 1982. With the birth of Matthew came a move into their second family home, a 40-acre property on Ray Myers Road just outside Imbil. Bob and Robyn talked about wanting to have more children (as if THREE boys weren't enough!!). They really wanted a girl, and Robyn fell pregnant, but heartbreakingly in October 1984, baby Alison Robyn passed away during birth. After the traumatic loss of Alison, they were unsure what to do next, but a little surprise came along (albeit a little early!), with Claire Marie being born 7 weeks early in August 1985. Robyn really wanted to complete the Weller clan with a little playmate for Claire, and finally convinced Bob to try for another baby, and along came the youngest, Lauren Elizabeth in April 1988. With their family complete, Bob and Robyn turned their attention to where they wanted to raise and school their children. In 1989, Bob was given the opportunity to take a contract at Kingaroy State High School as a Maths/Science teacher. A year of living at the Kingaroy Hotel and commuting back to Imbil to see his family eventually led to a permanent move with the whole clan to Kingaroy in 1990. The family home on Railway Road was one filled with memories, of exploring the country side, visiting friends up on the road, and enjoying the life of country kids. The Kingaroy years were a formative time for Bob and his family, he combined his passions in life, sport, music and family into a rich experience that he loved and enjoyed. Overtime, Bob became embedded in the Kingaroy community. As a teacher at Kingaroy State High - he was most known for his booming voice that would travel across the school. I would bow my head in embarrassment whenever I heard it!! But I've come to learn that behind that booming voice he created some magic. He was loved by many students... he was so passionate and interested in his subject areas that he 'tricked' kids into learning. Kids who'd been shunned by other adults most of their lives were welcomed and supported by Bob. He had this way of seeing past bad behaviors and seeing kids for who they truly were - another human being. School, the farm and raising 5 kids weren't enough for Bob. Beyond the school environment, Bob volunteered his time in multiple committees. Whatever co-curricular interest us kids had, Bob was there supporting it. With Tony, Greg and Matt playing Rugby League - Bob played a role as administrator for the sport - which he continued until he left Kingaroy. Bob loved watching his boys excel in Rugby League, especially when Tony and Greg would verse each other in various representative competitions. Bob was also heavily involved in school athletics where he coached and supported wide bay and state representatives; He was also on the eisteddfod committee and even cameoed as a netball coach. Having learnt and played piano himself, Bob was passionate about each of us learning musical instruments. We each learned piano and a wind instrument, with Tony playing sax, Greg - trumpet, Matt - clarinet, Claire - flute and Lauren trombone. During this time, it was clear that Bob's focus was on everyone around him - his family and his community. Bob didn't ever take sides with anyone, except of course Robyn. Bob and Robyn stuck it through the tumultuous years of having 5 independent and strong-willed children - which proved to be a foundation for the years to come. f The 2000's brought a mix of amazing experiences for Bob, the highlights included: o Seeing all his children marry the loves of their lives - I'd now like to take the time to acknowledge Tony's wife Stephanie and their two daughters Izzy and Liv who sadly were unable to fly from their home-country Canada to be here today, we are all missing them immensely - but they are all with us in spirit. Bob was very fond of all of his in-law children - Steph, Amber, Ashley, Kevin and Andre. o Getting to meet his 9 beautiful grandchildren, Kirra, Kaes, Sofia, Beau, Izzy, Caleb, Livvy, Oscar and Erica; o He celebrated 38 Years of teaching and retired from teaching in 2007. With retirement came some challenges that put a colour on Bob's life that was sad and bittersweet, his ever after Robyn was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2013 and Bob took on another important role as carer for Robyn. Whilst incredibly challenging for Bob, he handled the new role with resilience and cared for his love Robyn, as he had said 39 years earlier in sickness and in health. In 2014 Robyn and Bob moved to Brisbane to be closer to the kids and moved into 39 Bunya Road with son Greg and daughter-in-law Amber and their family. This created a new family hub, which allowed easy visits by family, as well as the immensely appreciated support for Bob and Robyn from Greg and Amber. Bob loved having visitors, and all visitors loved coming for a yarn with Bob, telling stories of times past and things that he loved doing. He enjoyed two visits to Tony and his family in Canada with Robyn, one via a month-long cruise via the USA. His passion for crosswords and Sudoku kept his brain trained, and his new-found love for lawn bowls and learning the guitar gave him some Bob-time each week to decompress from the life of a full-time carer. His grandkids lit up his life, there was nothing more beautiful than seeing Bob give them love and attention like only Poppy could. He just LOVED holding his newborn grandchildren, the look in his eyes was so special. The key things that we all learnt and saw from this tough time, was Bob showing us what true commitment was, what true love was and how important supporting those in your family is. He did this with barely a grumble and "just got on with it"! After all that Bob has endured in his life, he didn't let that harden him. He instead became more self-aware, more open to change and more compassionate towards himself and others. He was larger than life and he always will be.