BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 901 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
REBUILDING FAMILY: Paul, Darcy and Emily Gray. Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN.
By DIANNE DEMPSEY
WHEN Paul Gray’s wife Kerri, affectionately known as Kez, died on March 11, 2011 from breast cancer, she was 38. The tragedy was even more poignant as she left behind her two much loved children, Emily who was then 11 and Darcy, eight. While Mr Gray was heart bro-
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Hideaway home a way to ease the pain
ken, before his wife died she left him with a grain of hope. “Kez asked me if I could do something with the Otis Foundation. Her own mother had died from breast cancer exactly 12 months and one day before she did,” Mr Gray said.
“I approached Andrew Barling in the following June and asked him what I could do.” The Otis Foundation was instigated by Mr Barling in 2000 to provide retreat houses for women and men who suffer from breast cancer. The Foundation has properties
Mayor calls for changes to council – Page 3
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in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Mr Gray’s vision for the house to be built in his wife’s honour is the biggest project with which the Otis Foundation has been involved. “Kez’s Hideaway” is due to be completed by this spring. It will be
constructed by Paul Gray Builders on eight hectares of land donated by Andrew and Lisa Campbell at Redesdale “Building the house has been a way for me to deal with my grief,” Mr Gray said. “Knowing that there will be something there with Kez’s name on it will help with the pain of our loss. Continued Page 3
Pool battle continues – Page 5