I'm currently sitting in the Qantas lounge in Sydney, on my way back to Adelaide having attended the funeral of Bob Sykes.
A sobering day, a depressing day, and am uplifting day.
Really a roller coaster of emotions, in seeing a good friend off, and catching up with other good friends and acquaintances after the event.
The funeral was held at the Anzac Chapel in Duntroon, and it was a good place to hold it. Bright and airy and functional, with none of the glitter, pomp and circumstance of the Catholic equivalent.....
There was a large group of attendees, and I must admit I knew few of them, which is testament to the life Bob had outside the service.
Naturally there were the faces of the old reprobates from Navy days.....Dimples Sheargold, Knobby Clarke, Bob Rice, Rick Johnson and Dave Twiss.....most of whom were still swapping 'This is no shit.........' stories long after most of the guests had left the Hellenic Club.
Of course I did say Dimples Sheargold....so I guess that goes without saying.
The service started with the strains of 'Fields of Gold'....don't know who the singer was....not Sting....but it was very moving.
A few words from the padre and then the eulogy from Dimples....surprisingly for Dimples, fairly short, to the point and not too many sea stories. But captured the man.
Bb's youngest son Mathew gave a speech, and it was particularly moving....I had to resort to the hanky several times...glasses needed cleaning from the inside.....he portrayed Bob as he was, brought out the enthusiasm and intensity with which Bob approached anything, spoke of his strength, his compassion, his drive to succeed, his love for his family and his great strength of character. I had no trouble picturing Bob throughout his description of Bob's life and the impact he clearly had on Mathew, who desperately wanted his father to be proud of him.
I called him before I left Canberra to tell him how much his speech has touched me, and how I was sure his father would have been very proud of him....and I'm sure he would have. Damn, there goes those tears again....must be raw onions in the club somewhere.
Playing of the song 'My Way' which was appropriate for Bob, some prayers and words of hope, and strains of 'Air that I breathe' wafting through the chapel as the pall bearers took Bob's coffin to the hearse.
Many sea stories exchanged at the Hellenic Club, plenty of stories of Syke's exploits....and of course many others....and an agreement that the old Navy we knew doesn't exist in any way, shape, or form today, and that we're all much better for the experiences, both good and bad, that we took away with us, and that the world is a much duller place without the likes of Robert Jon Sykes to enrich the lives of others.
Rest in Peace Robert; you'll be sorely missed.
Further to the thoughts expressed above, I received this from 'Dimples' Sheargold, via Bill Krause tonight... 
