Aunt Margie, John, Sue, Julie and other members of the Garlick family.
We only lost Uncle Laurie a few days ago and despite the fact that I am about eight and the half thousand kilometres away from him, I already missed him. I am sure we will miss his quiet presence, the smile and laughter of the gentle giant and the exemplary way of life of an ordinary hero – I most certainly will.
He probably did not know how much he inspired me as a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend, a gentleman, a Christian in his unassuming ways. The most extraordinary thing about him was how ordinary he was. He was able to celebrate life without pomp and pizzazz. He exuded so much warmth, kindness and love. I have always felt in him, a certain inexplicable conviction and resolve in the God he believed. The way he handled his disease that plague his last days bore witness to all these.
Every day when I turn-on my PDA, I am greeted with my favourite quote from a book written by John Le Carre entitled The Russia House, “Today, one must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being”. Uncle Laurie was my hero. Uncle Laurie, thank you for sharing your home, your family and your life with me.
Aunt Margie, John, Sue and Julie, I grieve with you. I will miss chatting with him over the phone. I will miss hoping that I will see him again either in Singapore or in New Zealand. I will miss his calm, soothing voice. I will miss his jokes and laughter. However, in his honour I will continue to live my life like he did. Like him, I shall learn to live and behave like a merely decent human being.
May his God bless and keep Laurie Garlick, and his family he loved so much.
