Barry Colin Raymond Pearson
Late of Argenton (Newcastle) NSW
Accidently killed in New Zealand 12th July 2010
Barry`s funeral will be held at All Saint`s Anglican Church Belmont on Tuesday 20th July 2010 commencing at 11am
I love you Dad and always will,
I did in life,
In death I do still.
Each morning I start with a broken heart,
But carry on daily playing my part.
On you Dad I knew I could depend,
You helped me along,
If I walk in your footsteps,
I`ll never go wrong.
RIP Dad/Poppy
We Love You
Becky, Stu, Heidi & Alana
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Our warmest thoughts are of you and your family.
Rest in peace Barry.
Smile from up above.
All our love,
Natalie, Tammy and Sharlene Myles.
FOR BAZ
Baz was a man that gave it all to his family & his friends. A man that would give everything until the very end.
A man who loved his family and his freinds everyday and had the respect of his collegues in every aspect of the way.
He was a man that could make you smile just by being there and everyone who knows him has so many stories to share.
Baz your hard working hands are now laid to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us he only takes the best.
We all loved you Baz you had a heart of gold and we will miss you.
Our social club outings will never be the same without you.
Rest in peace Love Donna
Dear Barry
Girls at the Downtown Motel Wollongong are thinking of you.
We keep waiting for you to walk through our doors with a six pack
All our love
Kirra, Christina, Maddie, Naomi and Angie
To the family of Barry (Baz) the two attached photos were taken at the SCG Ausralia Vs The West Indies Waratah social club outing February 2010. He always enjoyed a day outside work with his workmates in the social club. We will
all miss his infectious personality, his one liners and his friendship.
Cheers Robert Dick
Barry’s Eulogy
Firstly I would like to thank Chris and the family for allowing Barry’s workmates and colleagues the opportunity to say a few words in his memory. I speak on behalf of all employees of Waratah, both present and past, and everyone who knew Baz in the industry. I hope I can go some way to represent everyone by trying to convey the many, many messages and sentiments that have been made over the last week. His passing has created a shock through all of us and left us with deep sincere regret, he has left us far too early.
Barry started working for Waratah in 2002, initially in the workshop and then in our service team where he remained. He was a dedicated and exceptional tradesman with an uncanny ability of being able to fault find and problem solve. If there was a problem to fix, a part to be changed, there was no better than Baz to have on the job. He was our most sought after service engineer; mines would contact us and ask for him specifically. If there was a problem on a machine, and all hell was breaking loose, simply by knowing that Barry was on his way to have a look at it created confidence in everyone involved. They knew it will be fixed, as quickly, as safely, and with as little stress as possible. He was dedicated to his work and would never leave a job unfinished, no matter what the circumstances.
I’ve had some guys on our service team tell me that they have been doing the same job with Baz, one on the each side of the machine, and they were racing him to get the job finished first, they never beat him. And this was despite the fact that Baz didn’t even know what they were trying to do.
Barry was a mentor to everyone in the service team, affectionately called “dad” by the boys. He was an excellent teacher, always keen to pass on his knowledge to others. When we had new members come into our team, we would always ensure they spent time with Baz, we knew he was the best to look after them underground and keep them safe and no one was better at showing them the best way to get the job done.
However, there was also the concern that he would lead them astray after the shift. And to be honest, its Barry’s personality that I would like to talk about. He was an outstanding tradesman, that’s for sure, but he was a great bloke with a larrikin streak that was hard not to like or admire.
Whether he was in the office causing havoc with the staff or the photo copier, underground on the job carrying enough tools for 10 men, or having a few quiet ones after the shift, that always seemed to grow a bit louder. He was never short of a joke, a quick saying or a yarn, and some of them were even funny. He certainly didn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. Or the fact that it wasn’t that funny either. I actually tried to think of some of his sayings or stories that I could recount here today, I decided not too as I couldn’t think of any fit to be said in mixed company, especially in a church.
I remember I spent a week with Baz up at Emerald in Queensland working on a machine. It was the middle of summer; the machine was on a pad out the front of the portal in a high wall. It was hot, no breeze could get in, we were working long days and the customer was not happy. As usual Baz took the lead and got the job done with a minimum of fuss. On the last day before we flew out we finished and got back to Emerald after 10pm. We headed to the nearest pub to settle the dust. A few hours later we left the pub and started walking back to our hotel. I stepped off the gutter to cross the street and rolled my ankle, I fell down and bumped my head and temporary knocked myself out. Now given all the kind words I’ve said about Baz, I bet you can guess how he responded. He thought I was joking, so when I came too he was standing above me pretending to lay the boot in yelling at me much to the amusement of a few onlookers. He did help after he realised I wasn’t mucking around.
Baz looked after everyone; it was in his nature to help. We had a service engineer based in Lithgow, not sure if Dave is here today, but I remember Barry would take lollies down for Dave’s kids whenever he travelled that way. Everyone at work knew about his latest project, whether doing something on the house, up at the van, or with one of his kid’s places or there cars. He even turned a push bike into a spit roast. We all knew how proud he was of his kids, and how much he loved his grandchildren, he loved being there pop. I remember him telling me stories about the kids and the spa at home; he was such a proud and dedicated man towards his family.
I know that anyone who spent a bit of time with Baz will have at least one or two stories of there own about him, he was that sort of bloke. I remember him telling me a bit about his own childhood and upbringing over a few beers, it was tough. Some would say that they would understand if he was a bit bitter at life. Not Barry he always put a positive shine on it and this rubbed off on anyone around him. His fantastic attitude and approach to life was inspirational.
He had a love for life, and was the life of the party. Once he was asked to leave a local establishment, possibly after one too many ales, or maybe it was something he ate. Anyway Barry exited one set of doors, a little bit unsteady on his feet, attempted to make his way up the street, over balanced, and ended up coming through another set of doors into the same pub. This was without the security guy who asked him to leave originally seeing him re enter. Luckily the bar stopped him, so he ordered one more for the road, before exiting 2 steps forward, 3 steps back again to the cheers of everyone around.
I left Waratah about 8 weeks ago, and Barry was on site that day. When I went up to say “see you later” and shake his hand, Barry pushed my hand aside and grabbed me and gave me a hug. In everything that I’ve tried to say here today, that example of the type of bloke he was says it all to me. Always smiling with a kind word to make you feel better. That was my last interaction with Baz, and its now one of my strongest memories.
To Chris and your family, Barry had an enormous positive impact on us, his colleagues. We can not begin to imagine the hole you must be feeling now, as our feeling of loss simply pales into insignificance with what you must be feeling. We hope you can gain some comfort in the knowledge that he was held in such high regard and had our utmost respect. Respect for his abilities, but also respect for his attitude and kind personality. You deserve to feel proud of him. From all his workmates, past and present and everyone in our industry who had the luck to work with him, our love and best wishes are with all of you.
Summing Barry up is actually not that difficult, you don’t need fancy words or long stories. Barry Pearson was a bloody good bloke. He had a heart of gold and `would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was fair dinkum in everything he did. He was an extraordinary tradesman, a true larrikin, well respected by his workmates and the industry. He has left us far too early, but anyone who met him will not forget him. Thanks for bringing fun and mateship into our lives Baz, rest in peace, we’ll miss you mate, cheers.
Mark Jones
