Hardress Waller, by Vijay Bhushan, Hyderabad 1982Late addition - see also his obituary in the Irish Times for Saturday 17th April 2010.
My friend and cousin Hardress Jocelyn de Warrenne Waller of Rynskaheen, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, died aged 92 after a short illness on 6th March 2010. He is survived by his widow Lygia (née Banasinska), son Jocelyn, grandson Thomas and great-grandchildren Alexander and William. A second grandson Edward was killed by a terrorist bomb in Bali in 2002.
At his funeral service in St Mary's Church of Ireland, Nenagh, on 10th March 2010, a large congregation joined together to give thanks for and celebrate his long life, well lived, and to recall his gifts of character, integrity and leadership, his sense of humour and zest for life, and all the ways in which he touched the hearts of his family, friends, neighbours and the wider community. After the service he was buried beside his parents Edgar and Dorothy in the family graveyard at Clough Prior, followed by refreshments at Lough Derg Yacht Club, of which he was a past Commodore.
He had a distinguished army career, serving in the Horse Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery where he was known by the nick-name Sam. After fighting in Burma during the Second World War, where he was awarded the Military Cross, he served in many places around the world, was received an MBE in 1956, and retired in 1965 with the rank of Brigadier. In a second career in horseracing, he was Secretary to the Horserace Betting Levy Board 1965-68, Director General of the Racecourse Association 1968-1975, and Senior Steward of the Irish Turf Club 1991-93. He was educated at Rossal and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
He was also an accomplished polo player, a highly competitive and successful sailor of Shannon One Design dinghys, a military historian, a family genealogist, and with his wife Lygia a restorer of oil paintings.
I will miss him greatly.
The Waller family crestI used this prayer of William Penn over his coffin the night before his funeral:
We give you back, O God, those whom you have given us
You did not lose them when you gave them to us,
and we do not lose them by their return to you.
Your Son has taught us that life is eternal and love cannot die.
So death is only an horizon, and an horizon is only the limit of our sight.
Open our eyes to see more clearly, and draw us closer to you,
so that we may know we are nearer to our loved ones,
who are with you.
7 comments:
That is a lovely poem and your words give a poignant insight into what a great man he must have been.
Thanks Daniel - the poem is actually a prayer by the English quaker William Penn, who founded the state of Pennsylvania - a beautiful example of quaker spirituality.
A wonderful tribute to Hardress, Joc. You and Marty brought him immense joy in his last years. When I last saw him in July, he made jokes at his own expense about his bridge-playing capabilities and your good humour about them. The last thing he said to me was to urge me to get in touch with Tom in Thailand, and Tom and I have corresponded periodically ever since. He made sure the next generations knew one another. My best to you and Marty, and to Lygia.
Cousin Mike
Joc, thanks for alerting me to the passing of your father. We had never met, but had corresponded a few times earlier this decade. I am glad he had a long and full life, he seemed like a wonderful person. His letters were showed great humor and intelligence. I suspect you were blessed to be his son.
Andrew Waller
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Thanks for your kind words, Andrew.
For your reference, I am not Hardress's son Jocelyn but Jocelyn Sanders, a son of Lucie daughter of W Jocelyn Waller of Prior Park, Hardress's 2nd cousin once removed. But I knew Hardress well as I live about a mile away from his house Rynskaheen.
You can locate me on your excellent web site, for which all Waller relatives owe you a great debt.
I am very sorry for your loss, Joc. I am sorry, too, that I never had the pleasure of meeting him. You wrote a very nice tribute to Hardress, I am sure he deserved it.
Cousin Mary in Jefferson City, Missouri
"For your reference, I am not Hardress's son Jocelyn but Jocelyn Sanders, a son of Lucie daughter of W Jocelyn Waller of Prior Park, Hardress's 2nd cousin once removed. But I knew Hardress well as I live about a mile away from his house Rynskaheen."
-Sorry, of course I knew that. Temporary brain seizure!
"You can locate me on your excellent web site, for which all Waller relatives owe you a great debt."
-Thanks for the kind words, I enjoyed perusing your blog as well. I regret that I did not know of it sooner.
AW
Post a Comment