Obituaries

Donald Charles Allen (1956) passed 29th December 2020

Eric Birghitti (2015) passed 2nd January 2020 Terry Capellaro (1975) passed 26th January 2020 Tomislav Cop (1984) passed 8 October 2020 Anthony Donohoe (1963) passed 20th March 2020 Bill Gibson (1939) passed 29th May 2020 on his 99th birthday James Kennedy (1985) passed 17th April 2020 Russell O’Brien (1968) passed July 31st 2020 Declan McKeown (2015) passed 2nd June 2020

Dan Clune (’57) passed 10th June 2020

Dan Clune, who was a prominent senior student at the college in the mid1950s, died on June 10, 2020, aged 80, after a long battle with cancer.

Dan hailed from Three Springs and matriculated in his final year in 1957. He was a leader in a wide range of college activities. In addition to being a Prefect, he was treasurer of the Holy Name Society and a Prefect in Our Lady's Sodality.

His involvement in these activities was not a surprise. His great, great uncle was Patrick Clune, the first Archbishop of Perth (1911-35).

Dan was also a stern Sergeant Major in Brother Boyd Egan's Cadet Unit and had an impressive sporting record. In 1956-57 he rowed in the First VIII and played in the First XVIII, which won the Alcock Cup in both years.

Eddie Rigg, who was a teammate in the 1956 side, recalled that Dan and Tom Hoad shared duties in the ruck and alternated in the back pocket. "Neither went round corners," Eddie said.

After leaving school, Dan returned to Three Springs but his adventurous spirit was prominent. He became a trailblazer in agriculture, being awarded one of the first lots developed for irrigation in the pioneering Ord River Scheme in the mid-1960s. Classmate Tony Morrissey was granted an adjoining property. Dan was elected president of the Growers' Association.

Cotton was the major crop. But it was susceptible to attacks from pests which were difficult to control. Many cottongrowing ventures, including Dan's, did not go well. But he was successful in a second stint at the Ord in the 1980s, growing melons and getting them trucked to the big markets on the east coast.

In the mid-'80s Dan returned to Perth where he was employed by an American company and later moved to its Sydney office. He was the top sales and marketing performer two years in a row and was rewarded with overseas holidays, first a world trip including London and Hong Kong, and the second to Mexico.

Dan also worked overseas. He became involved in developing radiofrequency technology for a German company concerning livestock. He then moved to St Petersburg after an approach from the Australian Government to assist Russian farmers in preserving their cattle for the food chain.

Back in Sydney in 2009, he was a member of a committee which introduced compulsory microchipping for the recovery of "companion" animals.

His entrepreneurial spirit persisted and he had major success with another innovation - working with the RSPCA. Through a link with the Queensland branch, he supplied microchips and developed a database for pets. This led to the development of his successful family company, HomeSafeID, for the national registration of animals, which is still operating.

Dan married Lorraine (nee Kidd) and they had five children. They now have 10 grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. A well attended funeral service was held for Dan in the college chapel. Tony Golding (’44) passed 6th January 2021

Tony was a good student and a talented sportsperson, gaining honours in both Rowing and Football. On leaving College, Tony obtained qualifications as an industrial chemist and was employed in the Oil industry for 18 years, being involved in quality control, research and as a technical advisor. He then worked in the paint industry for the subsequent 11 years, specialising in corrosion control systems, later establishing his own business dealing in special surface coatings used in the building industry. Tony retained friendship with many of the students of his time and always appreciated the legacy of his school days at Aquinas. His sons Ian & Graham, as well as grandsons Tom & Chad Golding, and Nick Chetkovich also attended Aquinas. Tony died at the age of 93 having lived a full and rewarding life.

John Kennedy Peterson (’51) passed on 27th December 2020

John was born in Broome in 1934 and was very happily married to Robyn for 67 years. They had 5 children, 7 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and live in Scarborough for 41 years. John worked in various professions, including teaching, publican, insurance and motor vehicle industry. John’s time at Aquinas is fondly reminiscent including

have to ride his horse from Fremantle to school. John was very proud of his grandchildren Nick and Ben Steens having also attended Aquinas College.

Ron Davidson (’53) passed 10th October 2020 who attended the college from 1943 to 1953, and was a prominent Inters athlete, died in October after a short illness. He was aged 84.

In his Leaving Certificate year, Ron was a member of the Open Relay team which set records at both the Inters at the WACA Ground and the State Schoolboys and Schoolgirls Championships at Leederville Oval.

He later competed in the interclub athletics competition, assisted Geoff Worner in coaching the Inters team, and was a member of several winning Old Boys relay teams with 1950 national 100 yards champion Bill de Gruchy, Graham Ward and Bernie Scahill.

A second generation Aquinian, Ron gained a cadetship in journalism at the Sunday Times, and within a few years was the chief football writer. He covered the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympic Games, including Herb Elliott’s world record-breaking run in the 1500 metres. He also reported on state politics.

Ron graduated from the University of WA with first-class honours in psychology and, in a career switch in the late 1960s, joined the university’s Psychology Department, undertaking wide-ranging research.

After retiring in 1997, Ron took up writing with gusto, producing several books, including one with his wife Dianne called “Saving Fremantle”. He also wrote, “High Jinks at the Hot Pool” which was effectively a history of the Mirror newspaper, a Perth paper at one stage edited by his father Frank, which new owner Rupert Murdoch closed in 1956.

His brother Lawrie (LC 1955), said in his eulogy that Ron was always known as “Davo” at Aquinas. “I was proud to be called ‘Little Davo’ through my primary years at school,” Lawrie said.

Ron is survived by his wife Dianne and daughters Emma and Jane. Several old boys, including Bill de Gruchy and Don Martin, attended his funeral.

Ted Speering (’67) passed on 13th December 2020

Ted’s life was challenged with an underlying brain condition, which caused a stroke in 2015. He fought back from his paralysis and was back on his feet to walk his daughter down the aisle in 2016 – there was not a dry eye in the house. The same at the reception when he did his new version of a waltz. That video has since been used to encourage stroke patients. He spent his subsequent time serving as a volunteer in the OPH Stoke unit visiting and encouraging stroke patients. He was much loved by the OPH staff. They were constantly inspired by Ted’s courage, cheerful disposition and his sense of faith and hope. He was always genuinely interested in people of all ages and a point made over and over again was he had a unique way of engaging with them.

He constantly set goals once home to keep improving. His motivation was his desire to give back in gratitude. He signed up and did a training course with Red Cross and engaged in making morning calls to ensure people living alone were up and safe. Ted never quite stuck to the script and developed a “connection” with these people over years of calls. He was aware that it may be the only opportunity to chat to someone in their day.

While he sadly was unable to return to Mercy college after his 2015 stroke, Ted commenced maths tutoring, volunteering to help out kids/ adults in the street and beyond to achieve their goals. He was always driven by his desire to teach and encourage. He lived life as fully as possible.

Even when the next stroke in June 2020, robbed him of all the achievements mentioned, the smile never left his face despite the pain of having to re learn to walk yet again and deal with cognition injuries.

He put his energies into enjoying time with his children and 6 grandchildren that have arrived since 2016. His humour was unique and will live on in his three children!

Ted trusted in his God. Never questioned “why me” just accepted and lived as best he could always knowing he had an incurable progressive condition in his brain.

He loved me to sit with him at night while he read a psalm, and said prayers of intercession for all in need.

He suffered another stroke in June 2020 and then another in Nov. He passed away from the consequences of a catastrophic stroke which occurred on 9/12.

The attendance at the Mass to celebrate his life was a testament to a magnificent man who served others, remained joyful and was grateful for his loving family. So many staff who attended the Mass, including the head consultant for the OPH stroke services and nurses adorning their uniform on their days off, says it all.

His years of commitment to Catholic education has been widely acknowledged by so many colleagues.

Terence Bowen (’53)

Passed away peacefully on the 2nd August 2020, a Sunday morning in the loving company of family. Terry, who had endured a long illness with cheerful forbearance and a penchant for spirited comebacks, was finally assuaged in receiving the Last Rites one last time. He is survived and sadly missed by his five children and beloved wife Arlette, sister of fellow old boys Frank, Alan, Noel and John.

A devoted family man, who could

obituaries

light up a room with his smile and conversation, Terry always had time for anyone. He was much loved in the community and parish for his enthusiasm, humanity and willingness to help. Originally a farm boy hailing from Wongan Hills, Terry spent some 9 years at Aquinas. Throughout later life, he fondly recalled his time there, and experiences shared with classmates, teammates, brothers and staff. An early love of sport was fostered at the college on the football field, cricket pitch, and tennis court where he became singles and - together with partner Steve Houghton - doubles champion. Subsequently, during a stint at UWA where he and George Grljusich became mates, the passion for sport did not abate. Around this time, Terry encountered an amateur actress and fencer - sister of a fellow Aquinas alumnus. Spurred on by this romance and a potential new sporting pursuit, he later assumed the role of her manager, as they embarked on an international life training and competing in National and World Championships throughout Eastern and Western Europe. They married and then sojourned for a time in New York, where Terry worked at the United Nations building.

Meanwhile, on the home front, they transitioned their base to the Eastern states, Arlette won the Australian title and they started a family. Yet Aquinas always remained close to Terry’s heart. In the 90’s he was able to fulfil a long held wish to have his sons – Dominic, Brendan and Martin - attend his alma mater. Also boarders, they joined their cousins already at the school, and the near mythic notions of the Aquinas spirit imbued in them by the old man were realised. Stories from those halcyon post-war days down by Mount Henry must have echoed around many a family dinner table. Classmates (and their families) of Terry are welcome to get in touch with his sons via the Aquinas development office.

John Cawley (’42) passed 31st January 2021

John Cawley grew up across the state of Western Australia, travelling from country town to town with his father, a school teacher. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Aquinas College and gained the title of Dux in 1942 and an equal top position in the state. He went on to study engineering at UWA.

After graduation, he moved to South Australia where he worked for the Department of Defence as a design engineer. He spent 40 years with Salisbury and Woomera.

He met his wife, Julie-Ann, in Woomera in the early 1960s and married in 1962, raising two daughters and a son. He was a proud dad with one particular failing - he could never help us with maths homework because he just looked at the question and gave the answer without being able to explain the intermediate steps.

The highlight of his career was his last project - the Nulka hovering rocket decoy - one of the great successes of Australian Defence Science.

In retirement, John was an enthusiastic handyman and did an enormous amount of charity work, especially for Rotary and St Vincent de Paul.

He died peacefully aged 85 at Southern Cross Lodge in Adelaide on 31 January 2021 and is survived by his wife JulieAnn, children Amanda, Mary-Ann and Tim, their spouses and six grandchildren.

Peter Hall (’43) passed 19th May 2020

Peter Beresford Hall was born in Moora on 29 March,1927. He attended Aquinas as a boarder in 1939 and completed leaving in 1943. After riding to and from the family farm to a small country school, he relished the opportunities that boarding at Aquinas offered him, including sports and he played in the football and cricket teams. Friendships made at school lasted a lifetime, especially Maurie Carr, Brian O’Hara and Alec Harold. He recalled many happy times and funny stories from his school days, and the boarders enjoyed a lot of freedom in the college grounds which was bushland at that time. After school Peter studied medicine at Adelaide University until he was eligible to enlist in the RAAF, and returned to Perth in 1945 to join one of the airforce’s last intakes. However, training stopped shortly after as the European war ended and Australian flight crews returned home. After studying dentistry at the University of Western Australia he found his true passion engineering, a field he worked in for the rest of his life and for work reasons he moved from Perth to Melbourne in 1958. Peter worked for British Timken, NSK, and other companies before starting his own business designing and selling fans. His youngest son continued this with AC Hall Airconditioning, one of the niche businesses in Melbourne.

Unusually for the times, Peter’s life was far more than a career. He was involved in a number of charity organisations from running the little athletics for the local Catholic primary school, founding and collecting money for Freedom from Hunger and Third World Interest Group, running the bookshop at the local church and later in life, being a volunteer driver for AIDS patients and a guide at the Fox car museum. Peter was also a keen bush walker and one of the founders of the Waverley Bushwalking Club.

Peter met Patricia Gamble in Manjimup in 1955, and they married in August, 1957. They had four children Kate, Annie, Damian and Alex and seven grandchildren. It was a long and happy marriage that lasted 62 years. Pat died on February 23, 2020. Peter predicted his own death to his children, telling them he would die of a heart attack in his bed, and be carried out of his house feet first. He also said that wouldn’t happen for at least one or two years. However, just five weeks to the day after his beloved wife died, Peter died exactly as he said he would, on his 93rd birthday.