EULOGY
Chapter One
EULOGY
Delivered 14 June 2001
I am the public speaker in our family and so naturally this role – the eulogy for our son Kial falls to me . Before I start I need to remind you that times of celebration are permeated with emotion and that tears can symbolise great joy and release .
I felt guilty that as working parents we had left Kial with others from the time he was 14 months old . Now I realize that Kial was too special to be enjoyed simply by Graeme and myself and that so many others needed the laughter and light that he brought to their lives . Thank you to Nonna and Nonno , Shelly , Lizzie and Amber and Leane who watched over Kial when first we returned to fulltime work . Thank you to Chrissy , Greg , Kirsty , Duncan and Shauna who took over during Kindy and to Maria , Paul , Hailey and baby Sasha who have loved and cared for our boy since preschool . Thank you to all of you who were too many to name , those who ’ ve been on board from the start , and those who joined ranks at the end . Every one of you made a difference and improved Kial ’ s quality of life .
Our son gave us many gifts throughout his wonderful and eventful life but the greatest of all was the gift of his love which brings you all here today to celebrate the life of acclaimed paleontologist and aspiring comedian Kial Tomas Doe . Kial ’ s battle began in September 1999 , the week before he had won his first running race , in Year 1 , here at St Thomas Moore and suddenly a terrible disease entered our lives .
It is to his great credit that he approached all things with boundless enthusiasm and particular attention to detail . He was a fierce competitor and learned in his final weeks to be a gracious loser . Graeme and I played him in his final Scopa ( Italian card game ) game on Friday morning before a trip to Nambour Hospital . He won his first breaststroke and as he reminded us on Sunday morning , backstroke races ( although he never did get that ribbon Ms Gibbs ) and competed in the school cross country in year 2 while undergoing chemotherapy . He said ‘ the teacher taught me to save some until the end ’ and he did .
He won the first ever Marcellin award for his class in 2000 , an award which recognized the highest achiever in the truest sense of Marist tradition , spirit and intellect , a leader who cares for others and leads by the best example . At the end of the year , at the Year 2 graduation ceremony , his was the award for school and class spirit .
What this child was able to give us in eight years , some parents never experience in a life time . He rode the corkscrew , twice – we had to go back to Sea World because he wasn ’ t tall enough the first time , and took communion daily . He told us constantly that we were the best parents in the world and the night before he died held us and said : “ Thank you , thank you for everything . Thank you for my family who love and care for me through all of this ”. He was a brilliant mathematician and an articulate and interesting story teller . He never forgot anything he learnt and we don ’ t know where we will start to bridge the gap he leaves .
He had great faith in Jesus and was a very devout young man . He told his dad not to worry , that even though Graeme wasn ’ t a Roman Catholic , Kial was sure God would understand “ what a good father you are to me and let you sit at his right hand with me ”. Let me tell you that I was