OUR BELOVED SON, BJ. BY MUM AND DAD

Benjamin was born on September 15th, 1973 in Canberra, Australia. He was a very longed for baby, in fact, the doctors had given up on Chris and Jan ever becoming natural parents. His birth was prolonged and difficult, and just to prove his point, he had no intention of arriving until he was ready. Having him come into their lives was the happiest day of Jan’s life.

Chris was besotted with him and immediately called him “BJ”, the name that he was most known by for the rest of his life.

And what a life. He was into everything with great gusto, we had to keep at least one step ahead of him. Anything that interested him, he threw himself into completely. He was always fiddling with something, we were amazed with his dexterity when doing Lego and puzzles. At Primary School, he would finish a craft activity before the other kids and on occasions, help others in his class. He was a gentle soul, a thinker, and showed these skills at Secondary College where he represented his school at the Chess competitions.

BJ was an excellent cook and could prepare a beautiful family meal by himself with no guidance. He loved gymnastics, was a regular monkey, climbing trees, rocks, anything that looked impossible to us. He was also a very good diver. Skateboarding was something he and his brother Dave enjoyed, they often went to the skate park after school. It was not a surprise to receive a phone call one afternoon from a local electronics shop, informing us that a skateboard had gone through their front window. Oops - no injuries.

Due to Chris’ employment, we left Canberra when BJ was 9 months old and settled in Sydney for the next 8 years. We were then transferred to Melbourne, his little sister Rachael was 3 at the time. Our 2 sons joined the Cubs then Boy Scouts where they learned many life skills. BJ was joined at the hip to Chris, always wanting to do things with him. On one occasion when we were camping by the beach, neighbours arrived with a brand new tent and were clueless about erecting it. BJ was chomping at the bit and when the opportunity came, over he went and with help, in no time their tent was upright. That’s how BJ was, always ready to jump in and help anyone.

After graduating from Secondary College, he was accepted as an apprentice with the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, the highest Motor Mechanical Educator in the State of Victoria. This began his lifelong trade and it was the best training for any young person.

We enjoyed many wonderful holidays as a family, mainly camping at beachside resorts in our tent. BJ learnt from his Dad the joys of swimming, spearfishing, surfboard riding, and lesser appealing sports - fishing and golfing. The boys had countless hours of enjoyment working on their many cars in our backyard garage. BJ inherited his love of cars from Chris and until we lost him, the two would speak for hours on this subject.

He met Dacia. It was wonderful to see him at least meet the woman of his dreams, and we were overjoyed to see them so happily married. Dacia brought out the best in him, we love her for that. And he became a father, producing 2 adorable sons, Xander and Gabe. It was wonderful for us to be grandparents and a part of their lives. Xander and Gabe are truly gifts from God.

America was calling and the family returned to Dacia’s homeland.

Life will never be the same for any of us who have truly loved BJ. He was the greatest gift God has ever given us.

Jan & Chris