Before
I begin and on behalf of the family, I would like to mention a number of people.
We would like to thank each and every one of you who have taken the time
to be here today, for making the time, taking it off work and in some cases
travelling a fair distance to pay your last respects to our beloved father.
We would also like to express our sincerest gratitude to each of you who
did not know Dad and are here as friends for Niki, Ruth, Keith or I.
I
thank each of you who prayed and provided words of encouragement, love and
concern for us during the past two weeks while Dad was in hospital.
Your voices did not fall on deaf ears and we were boulstered by the
number of people who were supporting us and Dad during this time.
Specially
I thank the Lombard family, the Bitters, the Balitho's, the McLachlans and the
other members of Mom and Dad's home cell who graciously and unthinkingly arrived
whenever Ruth or I believed that Mom needed the support of her friends.
Thank you to Keith’s, Ruth’s and my friends who supported us, gave up
their prayers, lovingly offered any manner of assistance and support. I thank my
dear friend Vanessa for all her support and daily telephone calls – you have,
unconsciously, been an invaluable support to me during this time – thank you.
Mom and I also wish to thank Zanele, Kate and Melvin from the office for
their daily support to see how things were going
and asking after Dad’s condition and progress - you have been, without
thinking, a wonderful support to us during this time. Ruth and I thank you one
and all for all that you have done in the past fortnight for us, for Mom and for
Dad.
I
thank, with all my love, my aunts Shirley and Loney, Vaughan, Richard, Mandy and
Maggie for being there every step of the way and lovingly looking out for us as
a family, always willing to help, assist, support, listen, care and love.
Thank you for taking so much time to come to Olivedale everyday to be
there with us, hold hands and provided that much needed, yet unspoken, support.
We love you all, as Dad loved you all, and we thank God for the wonderful
family which we have. To family far
and wide who are not here today, Stephen and David, David and Hugo, thank you
for your support and loving telephone calls.
To Dad’s good friend, Brian Brown, Mom truly appreciated your daily
calls, love and concern.
Lastly, the family wishes to thank our long-standing friend, Joseph, for providing the refreshments which we will all enjoy after today’s service. Dad loved dining at The Sheikh’s Palace and was looking forward to visiting once he got out of hospital.
As
many of you know, Dad really enjoyed giving impromptu speeches.
He was a great off-the-cuff man who managed to say all the right things
and not drag on too long. Some of
you who are present may remember my 21st birthday, where spoke for
almost 20 minutes, much to my embarrassment and the fascination of my friends at
the life I had lead. Our tribute
may not be as long, may not mention all which others wish we would say, but it
will highlight the wonderful husband and father which David Charles Garratt was.
This is a tribute by Mom, Ruth, Keith and I.
Davey
Gee, Dave, Poppet, Mr Gee and Spud were some of the names by which we called
Dad. One of the earliest memories
you have of your parents is a physical presence. Holding onto dad's little
finger when I was very young, because his hands were too big to grasp, came back
to me last week when I held his hand in the hospital. He had incredibly large
hands. I know his voice was distinctive too – many people commented on it. He
always had a strong, athletic body which he was lucky enough to retain from his
teenage years, despite three or four decades of 'good living'. Dad loved music,
good food, good wine, and a nice cigar every now and then. He uncle Hans partook
of the 'osbloed' (that's red wine) and he was an adventurous eater – suffering
from an awful case of food poisoning once when he decided to try wild boar at
the airport Holiday Inn. I suppose reading Asterix & Obelix had made him
curious. It's thanks to Dad that Ruth and I tried all sorts of weird and
wonderful cuisine yet some of it was just too rich for me.
He
loved computers and embraced their technological revolution with fervour. He was
always keen to know more about how to make this work smarter, or what software
to use to do that. We spent hours together as a family with our Radio Shack,
programming games, and then in later years, learning the in-s and out-s of DOS,
Lotus 123, and then the design programs that he used for work at Anglo. Most
boys are gadget fiends and Dad was no different. He had a fabulous HP calculator
that we could play star wars on, with a small attachable printer. Of course,
these days it's expanded to a study full of computer bits – a continuous feed
large format printer, all sorts of external drives, microphones, printers and
whatnot. He was an avid learner, always reading about some or other
technological advance.
Dad
enjoyed fantasy and science-fiction. Star
Wars, episodes 4,5,6 were really incredible to him until episodes 1,2 & 3
with modern computer graphics overtook them.
He even found Matrix and Lord of the Rings to be spectacular
cinematographical feats however he still loved the golden oldies like BattleStar
Gallactica and Robotec.
Dad
enjoyed reading all manner of books but managed to lead Ruth and I down the
life-long path of fantasy novels by David Eddings, Raymond E Feist and many
others. When we first discovered
David Eddings, late in March on year, we bought the entire series, as it was
then, and the three of us read all five books in tandem, back to back.
We even went so far as to have pre-ordered the next books in the series
from Books Unlimited in Emmarentia.
He
enjoyed wild-life, bird watching and the outdoors and when we were younger he
would take Ruth and I walking through the veld which lay above our house.
Mom and Dad would take any opportunity to go away to the game reserve or
another nature reserve to show us the beauty of the fauna and flora of our
country.
Although
he didn't come swanning out of University with a degree, he did start out at
Wits studying geology, then drafting at Anglo, and then onto managing various
departments within Mechanical Engineering and Technical Services. He travelled
abroad to the UK, Brazil and Israel, which gave him a perspective on the global
community. He would sometimes say things to me about the condition of the world
– words which rang true with the experiences that we've had abroad. I guess
that means he was worldy-wise, and understood the human condition in all it's
permutations. He once recalled to
me a day-trip he took through a part of Israel where the remaining mechanized
cavalry vehicles lie at the road-side, now all rusted and eroded.
He said that the image would stay with him for the rest of his life as a
reminder of the futility of human conflict – not even an armoured vehicle is
enough protection.
He
loved to create and was very imaginative, a wonderful art which Ruth fully
inherited. Dad could create any
manner of things out of wood. He
built the lounge suite, his and mom’s bed, Ruth and my bed, the staircase
railing and the library. Akin to
his draughtmanship, I think the precision and sense of achievement was what
inspired him most and abiltity to create that which was unique to him was the
reward. While it took him 31 years
to finally show me how to turn wood, I am so thankful for those two days where
he did. Whenever he came out of the
workshop covered in sawdust from head to foot it would remind me of when we were
children – sawdust and tobacco – a mixture of scents which I will miss.
Dad
was a man of few words - rather a 'do what I do' attitude, he led by example. He
was very even tempered and was never one to play emotional games with people.
You knew that when he said something he was being straightforward with you. When
he disciplined Ruth and I it was always with a frank attitude : 'you have done
something wrong, and these are the consequences of your actions.' We didn't feel
unjustly treated.
I
know we were in fact his second set of children and lucky to have benefited from
his experience of being a surrogate father to his sister Shirl and his brother,
Ken. While I will not do her memory
justice, I know Shirl would want me to tell you that he was the bestest brother
in the whole world and even more than that to her, that she loved him dearly and
will miss him forever.
Dad
knew the meaning of honour, dignity, loyalty and discretion. He got frustrated
as so many of us do, with pompous verbosity and other people's shortcomings, but
he always kept his own counsel and never spoke ill of others. Having been around
for a good thirty years now, I can see what a rare discipline this is. He never
laid much store by other people's judgment of him, or his family, and stood tall
amongst men. This self confidence is one of the greatest gifts he passed on to
his children – not a haughty pride, but a knowledge that what you have to
contribute is valuable – that you as a person are significant.
I believe we are still honing this to the level which he enjoyed.
He
was always sensitive and gentle with mom. I can remember them kissing one
another goodbye in the mornings when dad took us to school, and I was always
struck by the tenderness and love that they shared. They have been together for
more than thirty seven years, and were still very much in love, walking hand in
hand, caring for one another, being patient and forgiving. I know that they have
had a very real impact on couples here at Northcliff. This has been a great
privilege, even though I know my mum balks at the thought of having been an
example, she is gracious enough to acknowledge it.
My mom honoured my father and my father always respected my mom.
I can see this fundamental notion in action everyday between my sister
and Keith and I hope that I will one day live up to the example which mom and
Dad set.
Spiritually
he led our family in a practical manner. As I've already said, he led by
example, and not with lengthy speeches on good behaviour or moral rectitude. He
just got on with living as best he could. Don't get me wrong – Dad wasn't
without his faults or vices. He was a sinner just like you and me, but he walked
humbly with his God, and sought knowledge and wisdom before status and social
standing. We always said grace before a meal, and we were 100% aware that
everything we had came from God's hand. I
know that his spiritual brothers here at Northcliff meant a great deal to him,
guiding him and supporting him through the last thirty-five years.
Dad
was the best husband and father you could have wished for.
He loved rugby, except when a professional team were playing like
amateurs. He enjoyed the company of
friends and family around a good South African braai.
He would fish when we were on holiday and on many occasions stood on a
beach in the howling wind and driving rain while watching me thrash it out in
the waves on a windsurfer or paddleski. Dad was patient and kind, Dad would
listen and only give you counsel if you asked or if he thought it was really
important, Dad was adventurous and willing to try most things and Dad was an
even-keeled captain who steered us all in the right direction avoiding the
important lessons in life only if he really had to.
Dad
loved us one and all, each in his own unique way and we will mourn his passing
and miss him as each day goes on.
My
gratitude goes to the Lord for sending me Dave.
He loved me in a very special way and we took this journey through life
together with much joy, love and friendship and loyalty.
We raised our little family and then Keith married our Ruth, we are so
proud of our three children, the people they are and their achievements.
They are much loved and a source of great joy and much comfort. After
thirty nine years at AAC Dave retired. We
were so proud of him in 2002 -
sitting his exams and passing the ICDL so well to become the accredited computer
teacher at North West Christian School. His
pupils had a special place in his heart as did all the teachers and staff there.
The pupils tributes are such outstanding evidence of a mutual affection
between them.
Dave
walked with the Lord from a young age, recommitting his life under Rev. Higley
in about 1969. Lead a scout group
in Florida in the 1980's. The
church family was specially close to his heart and he was so committed to
serving on the Council and had a genuine fondness for his sometimes quirky
co-councillors.
The
Lekker-braai saints who speak in tongs have lost a founding member and he will
be fondly remembered. Our Morgan
Bay friends became family over 19 years of holidays.
God bless you one and all, our family, our dear friends, our church
family, NWCS, from Bastiaan to Dave's youngest pupil, Tuesday night group with
Hugh McKelvey and our blessed home-cell group with the Lombards.
He was a quiet, strong and loving man with a twinkle in his eye.
Dad,
we loved you, love you and will always love you and, like uncle Sam, Bo, Granny
and Grandpa, we will never forget you for it was through you and mom that we are
who we are today.
©The Garratt Family (2005)