Bev (Rusty) Wright Geelong

Our group was recently thrown into the depths of despair by the sudden death of our much loved drummer and former paddler, Bev. In fact, we still cannot believe that she has gone from us. Bev represented all that is good in life, and in a woman, to us. She fulfilled so many roles, not only in the club, but to each of us personally.

As the most senior member of our group she was the:

• MOTHER that many of us no longer have,
• TEACHER who taught us how to live,
• HISTORIAN who by talking of how she lived through events in Australian history helped us to compare the then and now and to make sense of our lives,
• RELATIONSHIP COUNSELLOR who provided a wise ear and sensible advice when necessary,
• SURVIVOR who lived with cancer for 20 years, but who never let that worry her.

Bev had been a member of Geelong Juggernauts for 5 years. She joined four months after the death of her husband. She often said that it surely was one of the best things she had ever done in her life. Bev was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer 20 years ago. During that time she had to deal with many recurrences and had many operations, forms of treatment, hospitalisations.

All this was minor to Bev’s way of thinking. She had no fear, she did not come across as an elderly lady who, with serious health problems, was sitting back, taking things easy and looking after herself. NO FEAR!!! Bev’s stamina outweighed that of our younger members. She attended almost all regattas, both interstate, city and country, being a social butterfly she attended all our social occasions, ceremonies and meetings. Bevvy particularly loved her long weekends at the Otis Retreat in Bendigo where she shone. She adored our company and it was reciprocal. Bev had an innate sense of inner happiness, peace and wellbeing

Bev loved people and people loved her.

WE WERE HER GIRLS!

Bev left us at 7.50 p.m. on Tuesday, 15th June, 2010.