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Bernie - lovable larrikin and sensitive soul
M
OST of us enjoy the perks of small-town life, the sense of camaraderie, knowing we have friends and neighbours close at hand who are there when we need them. But along with the benefits, there are heavier duties that come with living in a small town. For instance, when someone in the community dies, it is more sharply felt, their passing leaves a bigger void - one of “us” has departed; we who are already few are more greatly diminished. So, it is in Daylesford and throughout our region with the death of Bernie Jurcan. Bernie’s death on January 8 has shocked us to the core - he was 35 and known far and wide for his bright energy, as a businessman, a sportsman and as a friend. Lyndall Jenkin, who worked with him closely for many years as a committee member for the Daylesford Football and Netball Club, and in his Musk-based family-run business Istra Smallgoods, remembers him as being “so passionate about everything in life”, and never doing anything by half measures. “It was always 200 per cent,” she says. “It’s hard to believe someone with so much knowledge and wisdom was only 35.” Bernie leaves behind his wife Ruth, father and mother Livio and Lidia, sister Olivia and brother Sebastian. Lyndall continues: “I was talking to someone and I described Bernie as a linchpin. He really held everything together. Numerous times I'd call him in panic mode about stuff and he'd say, ‘Lyndall she'll be right’. And he was right. It always was right, because he was handling it.” Lyndall’s memories of Bernie are being echoed widely throughout the region. Many people remember him as a charming young man around Victoria Park who seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of humour and energy. At the DFNC, where he served as president for a number of years, his ability to get things done was remarkable; he would take on all manner of tasks during the week and then on Saturday pull on his footy boots and Bulldogs guernsey and charge onto the oval, where he would invariably be one of the team’s best performers. Former club vice-president and youth football development leader Steve Walsh says Bernie was “the most dynamic individual I’ve ever come across. He always had time for anyone and everyone. He was an extremely giving young man.” Steve laughs. “He was like a bull at a gate - he went 120 miles an hour, every day.” Daylesford resident and Herald Sun sportswriter Leo Schlink was another who worked closely with Bernie at the Bulldogs, and the two became friends away from the club. "Bernie was incredibly dynamic and his influence on the community was profound,” he says. “His energy and compassion were hallmarks in everything he did. "He was pivotal in the Victoria Park clubrooms redevelopment, devoting hundreds of hours to the project in what was very much a labour of love for the Daylesford Football Netball Club. "His business success as owner of Istra, and accolades as a fine sportsman, stand among many achievements but his greatest quality was his ability to connect with people from all walks of life.
"His death has rocked our community to the core and he will be missed enormously." The club held a series of open nights last week at which hundreds of members of the community came along to mourn and celebrate their memories of Bernie. As one supporter recalled, “Bernie always went out of his way to make everyone feel welcome. He wanted to make a difference.” As befits a life led large, Lyndall offers “another thing that was great about Bernie - because there are never going to be enough - is that he wore his heart on his sleeve. On the last presentation day, his last as president, he broke down in tears when talking about his love of the club. I don't think there was a dry eye in the rooms. That beautiful contrast between lovable larrikin and sensitive soul was just rare and wonderful.” The funeral will be held at St Peters Catholic Church in Daylesford on Wednesday, January 18 commencing at 1pm.
Words: Jeff Glorfeld
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