Obituaries

In Loving memory of Kelvyn John Horan who sadly passed on the 24th of August 2020. Attached is the Eulogy given by his daughter Cheryl Kerr. Today, I am going to talk about a man, known to many of you, by many different names such as Molly, Doon, Boof, Kelv, Chips, Stress but to me, he was Dad. Kelvyn John Horan was the 2nd son born to Norman Lindsay & Beryl Beatrice Horan on the 23rd of July, 1945 at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne; at this time the family were living in Thornbury. He was a very much-loved brother to Normy, Beryl, Barry & Neville. They moved a few years later up to the country where the rest of the kids were born. Dad attended Mirrimbah Primary School. It was situated at the foot of Mt Bulla. He left school at the end of grade 5 and went to work. There was no High school, so this was the extent of his schooling. Now, a little story I heard could explain why he left then…. dad and another student were expelled from school because they climbed up onto the roof of the school building & put a wet hessian bag over the chimney smoking out the school & classroom…. Didn’t go down well. His 1st job was at Carter’s Saw Mill, working for Harold Doughty. By the age of 16 he had his own house in Mansfield and a new job, working at Fliglin’s Mill. It was around this time his parents separated & his mother & 2 brothers (Barry & Neville) moved in with him. Dad was an extremely hard-working man & generally was working 3 jobs at least. He worked on Lake Nillacootie. He contributed to the building of the Dam wall & the spill way. He & My Uncle Bert shared the hours evenly, plus him still working at the mill. He moved to Wangaratta, when he was 21. He met my Mum (Shirley) on the main street one day & started chatting. She knew of him from the boys, they often spoke of Kelvyn. He was working with mum’s 2 brothers. During the day, he worked with My Uncle Cyril driving trucks for Roy McCormack & tow trucks, then at night, doing the nightshift, with Uncle Bernie at the woollen mills. A few months passed & he broke up with his girlfriend & started dating mum. They dated for around 12months, both living in Wangaratta. They got engaged in June 1967 and moved to Melbourne, living in Nth Melbourne with mum’s sister June. They found a flat in Brunswick but only stayed a few months. Mum hated it; it was a horrible, small place. They quickly found a flat in Hawthorn that was actually a very Lg house that had been subdivided. It was while living here they were married in Mansfield, in the same church her grandma was married in. It was a quick courtship & they were married on the 24th January 1968. It was because as a joke someone in the family told Grandma White that Shirley & Kelvyn got married, a month passed and she sadly suffered a catastrophic Stroke and died thinking they were, so out of respect for grandma they then got married. It was just a little earlier than what they intended but 52 years later they were still together, so it was meant to be… They lived there for 2 years. Upon going on a couple of holidays, they decided they wanted to move again & in 1970 found a place in Richmond. Dad was working at Whelan Wreckers, a job that then led him to working on building sites, later on…While living at the Richmond flats they met an amazing family that became lifelong friends & both Shirley & Kelvyn becoming God parents to 3 of their children. The wee wee Lisa being a very important person in their lives. Another, amazing thing happened while living there. They became parents to their only daughter (Me)…I was very spoilt because mum had suffered 4 miscarriages before me & started to doubt it would ever happen. In 1973 they moved to Airport West to the house they still live in live now. There the family grew with the addition of 2 more children. Sons, Trevor & Lindsay. Sadly, they lost a son Trevor in 1973, he was a stillbirth at 7mths. That night was the only time in dad’s life he fainted. Being told his son had died & he might lose his wife…. luckily, she didn’t. The next Trevor was born in 1974 & Lindsay in 1977. He had many job titles during his lifetime. He worked for a prentice builder, being a labourer, mixing concrete etc during the day and working at IPEC, driving a truck, going to Essendon Airport delivering freight to be shipped off at night. On weekends he worked with his brother-in-law Bert at his Mill in Mansfield. He did this till he was offered a partnership in a bricklaying business. He worked really hard buying a Bedford truck to help travel with all the equipment, cement mixer, tools etc. He did this till he realised it wasn’t for him. While living in APW we had some amazing parties which was basically every weekend! The house was like a half-way house in a good way…..as a family we have many good & Bad memories while living there… His next job in 1975 was at O’Donnell’s meat lumping. There he met a lifetime dear friend Peter (dog) Doherty. He may have worked there till 1979 but the friendships he made stayed for the rest of his life dog, spud, computer, Normy booth…. our families were very close & we grew up together. In 1979 he bought the international(truck) and he became an owner driver, the truck had a contract with All Trans. Over the years he added more trucks & worked with many different companies, Blue Circle, Stan Cash, Billy Guyatts, Bats Transport, Harvey Norman, Scott Berkowitz, The Good Guys & Chandlers… He did interstate runs all over Australia carting freight & furniture. I Used to accompany him on some. That’s how I learned the CB truckie lingo, we had lots of favourites, & one he would ask when I became an adult was “how are BBQ’s Goog?” I would answer “cold”, that meant the weigh bridge was closed. I loved going & spending that time with him, I would go Saturday mornings & be his truck jockey collecting the money from the customers, writing the receipts. It was so much fun! He had done numerous house removals, He never advertised, it was always from word of mouth, for he had an amazing reputation for doing a perfect, safe job & with no damages. As the company grew so did the staff. Many, Many, Many different truck jockeys & drivers were employed, if you didn’t cut the grade you were gone, he expected the same commitment that he put in, from his workers too…that’s where my husband come along as a 17 year old scatter brain dad called him. But he proved himself & earned dad’s respect. He became like another son & ended driving & running 1 of dad’s trucks. At that stage the boys weren’t interested in driving trucks but they did truck jockey for dad. On Bathurst Sunday, 7th Oct 2001, all our lives were changed forever. Dad was called & asked to do one of the companies a favour & do 1 delivery, so he & Lindsay went & did it. Not to far just in Footscray. Once he pulled up in front of the house, checked his mirrors before getting out of the truck, saw a red light at the crossing, opened the door just got out & bang! He was hit from behind, thrown 31/2 car lengths, legs smashed only hanging by 1 tendon, & back broke in 2 places…he was a mess. It didn’t look like my dad in emergency, nearly all his skin was red raw from the road…from the shock of it, I lost my daughters twin…it was horrific. He had to have his legs remade from donated bone, nuts & bolts. He went in to hosp October he came out Xmas week. He then had to do 10 months of rehab, re learning how to walk again. It’s a testament to his strength that he survived & pulled through. The guy that hit him & Left just got community service… From that time his health did deteriorate him suffering a stroke, a massive heart attack & having triple bypass surgery He did start working again, driving an automatic truck. He couldn’t use the clutch anymore in a manual truck. He loved it. It was only supposed to be a couple of half days, but he started doing more hours & working more days. Pushing himself. He ended up having another stroke which ended his working days. He may have stopped driving trucks but he continued to drive mum & others up the wall… While not working he got to spend more time with his 10 grandchildren. Harley, Blake, Brianah, Jake, Kaylee, Chelsea, Anakin, Ivy, Faith & Alyssa….and extended family Jason, Tash, Lisa. As the years went on his health continued to fail, yet he fought with all his might, I used to say “you are like a cat with 9 lives, but you must really have used all your lives by now?” Many more heart attacks, blood cancer, diabetes, Chronic Liver failure, Strokes …. he kept fighting on. Hey, dad wasn’t a perfect man, but he raised and taught us kids respect, values, good ethics, responsibility, pride, humility, compassion. At times he was a hard, strict man, but I thank him every day for it made me a productive adult for society. I thank him for the many laughs & tears, for they shaped who I became today. We weren’t spoilt with things but we always knew that our dad always had our back, his love & support…always! He loved us… He leaves behind many broken hearts, his wife, his children & their partners, his adoring grandchildren, siblings, nieces & Nephews, Family friends, Good mates, work colleges…. he has touched many hearts & lives and I would like to finish off with a poem.

I Miss You So Much Dad You were a Dad who was so special And who was loved so very much, And brought so much happiness To the many hearts you touched.

You were always kind and caring And so, understanding too, And, if help was ever needed Dad It so freely came from you.

You were a gift to all the world And brought joy to everyone, And life has never been the same Ever since you have been gone.