Our Dear Kevin,
You’ve taken the lead to other realms where we shall all go in
time.. Go then.. & trip your light fantastic....
I'm glad we had some time to share feelings about what you mean to us as you
have fit so easily & snugly into our family for such a long time.
The legacy you have left us all is sweet & loamy, warm &
binding, everlasting & teeming with memories of what an all round
kindhearted, clever, witty & level tempered soul you are..
AND.. a very brave fella to come along for the ride with Ret, Lou
& myself (three Zilles sisters), on our ‘trip of a lifetime’
to Europe, together.
You were an endless & willing source of talent, naturally
hamming it up in front of the camera & entertained us with your
fun & lovely demeanour. You were also patient & kind &
forgiving in some tricky manoeuvres we all had to take to make our
destination deadlines & decisions for our travelling band.
Speaking of bands, you switched me on to ‘The Boss’ quite a bit earlier than I would have, had you not been an avid influencer!
Quite aside from your passion for plants, prolific professional
life where you have made waves, rode them, moved mountains in spades
& wrote all about it over the years & stood strong &
admired among your peers & colleagues...
To us, my two girls & I, you were Brother-in-Law & Uncle,
valuable confidante, lively discusseur around the table, sharer of
stories, infectant with laughter, crossword aficionado, ‘lets turn
the compost & build a new one tomorrow’ & ‘we’ll pot up
some cuttings I prepared earlier’ type of company.
I remember you growing your first crop of veggies out the back
yard of your’s & Ret’s little cottage in Prahran way back in
the early ‘80’s & the milk cartons you prepared with
enthusiasm to blanch your crop... of celery! You showed such
commitment to the art.. I giggled at your attention to the ‘perfect
bunch’ & had no idea then, that you would go on to make plants
such a successful lifelong love & career!
We shared the birthings of two beautiful Zilles/Walsh children,
Nat & Cal, visited & stayed regularly en route to Ballaarat.
Looked forward to mellow Summer Christmas lunches under the willow
tree in the expansive backyard garden at Castlemaine & afternoon
tea or a ‘coldie’ undercover of the fruity grapevine on the patio
& so many other ‘get real’ important family spent events
across the years.
Your valuable input & thoughtful contribution to our family
decisions & call to action was generous & freely given. You
displayed drive & direction & had a way with your natural
delivery of cleverly worded persuasions & POV’s.
At the same time, just a happy go lucky, normal bloke, so easy to
be around & we love you..
We will always love you & remember you & bring you with us
when we’re getting around smelling the roses & even the
jonquils (as I did today, for you.. & I liked it!), visiting far
off lands, watching the waves roll in with the birds calling
attention! attention! experiencing the natural world & all it’s
beautiful bounty.. you are firmly in our memories, our hearts & our
familial talk will bring you into it all to be right there with us.
You will remain close at heart Kev..
Love Eternal, Margot, Hannah & Siah
xoxoxo