11-10 2021 10:39
wrote:
Kindred Spirits
Trevor has been more than a friend to me: his life and mine have been intertwined in a most wonderful way from the earliest years. From as far back as I can remember, we have been kindred spirits.
Trevor and I first came into contact through the Wembley Methodist Church, where we were age-mates and growing up together in the Sunday School and later the Christian Endeavour. We enjoyed the same things and spent hours talking about common interests. I remember an early Sunday School Anniversary where we sang a duet. Trevor gained my admiration from learning to play the piano, and from excelling in athletics, skills which I could never match.
Having had our primary education in Wembley and West Leederville Primary Schools, we went to different high schools when Trevor gained a scholarship to Hale School and I proceeded through Perth Boys’ High School and Perth Modern School. Though in different schools, we continued to be in close contact. I well remember how Trevor introduced me to Mendelsohn’s Elijah, through playing it on a record player in his home, and it became, and remains, one of my most admired pieces of music.
Through our involvement with the church, we received the message of the gospel, both through hearing the preaching at Wembley by being members of the Young Worshippers’ League, and also through rallies and camps held by church organizations. I will always remember, outside of Wesley Church in Perth after a meeting, Trevor asking me: “Have you ever thought of giving your life to Jesus? It makes such a difference.” This was one of the many prompts that the Lord used in drawing me to himself by the age of sixteen.
Trevor and I became members of what was then called Crusaders, now the Inter-school Christian Fellowship, or ISCF, and gradually moved into leadership in the work of camps and district meetings, one of which was held regularly in Trevor’s home. We did so much together, and shared so many common interests, that people who saw us separately in different contexts were found to confuse each of us for the other.
At the University of Western Australia, Trevor studied Medicine and I Arts, and we had fellowship together in the Evangelical Union. I remember us often having lunch together on the university lawns, with Graeme Gugeri, who was also involved in ISCF leadership, talking and praying about the District Meetings we were running.
Time passed, and with it, graduation. Trevor married Liz and I Kaye, then both couples spending periods abroad. I was best man for Trevor and he would have been for me, except that, by then, he and Liz were abroad. They sent us silver engraved serviette rings which we still treasure. Physical separation did not mean any lessening of the friendship. When, in time, both Trevor and Liz, and Kaye and I, returned to Perth and took up life in the suburbs to raise our families, we chose the same suburb, and the same church, Wembley Downs Uniting.
Trevor made a mark for himself in pediatrics, heading the Child Health Centre and, in time, being named citizen of the year.
A part of Trevor’s and my lifestyle was a weekly prayer meeting in Trevor’s study, and a fortnightly gathering with other likeminded couples, in one another’s homes, to pray for one another’s families – a practice which continued over the rest of our lives.
Trevor and I also participated in the Churchlands Choral Society, which, for a time, Trevor chaired. Even when disabled by his stroke, he sought and obtained support from the group to continue coming to practices and performances.
It was ironic that Trevor, whose powers of communication were exceptional, should have, in the closing period of his life, lost the capacity to express himself. I found, however, that when I visited him in the nursing home, he still radiated warmth when I arrived, and he delighted in hearing scripture read and in spending time praying with me. In these times of prayer I am sure he was getting through to God, though only God and, I think, Trevor knew what he was saying. On one of my visits, one of his co-residents said to me, “He is a good man.”
For me, friendship with Trevor has helped to define, and greatly enrich, my life. He has been a humble, dedicated follower of Jesus whose life has been a source of unending blessing to those who had the privilege of knowing him.
Ian.
11-10 2021 10:39
wrote:
Kindred Spirits
Trevor has been more than a friend to me: his life and mine have been intertwined in a most wonderful way from the earliest years. From as far back as I can remember, we have been kindred spirits.
Trevor and I first came into contact through the Wembley Methodist Church, where we were age-mates and growing up together in the Sunday School and later the Christian Endeavour. We enjoyed the same things and spent hours talking about common interests. I remember an early Sunday School Anniversary where we sang a duet. Trevor gained my admiration from learning to play the piano, and from excelling in athletics, skills which I could never match.
Having had our primary education in Wembley and West Leederville Primary Schools, we went to different high schools when Trevor gained a scholarship to Hale School and I proceeded through Perth Boys’ High School and Perth Modern School. Though in different schools, we continued to be in close contact. I well remember how Trevor introduced me to Mendelsohn’s Elijah, through playing it on a record player in his home, and it became, and remains, one of my most admired pieces of music.
Through our involvement with the church, we received the message of the gospel, both through hearing the preaching at Wembley by being members of the Young Worshippers’ League, and also through rallies and camps held by church organizations. I will always remember, outside of Wesley Church in Perth after a meeting, Trevor asking me: “Have you ever thought of giving your life to Jesus? It makes such a difference.” This was one of the many prompts that the Lord used in drawing me to himself by the age of sixteen.
Trevor and I became members of what was then called Crusaders, now the Inter-school Christian Fellowship, or ISCF, and gradually moved into leadership in the work of camps and district meetings, one of which was held regularly in Trevor’s home. We did so much together, and shared so many common interests, that people who saw us separately in different contexts were found to confuse each of us for the other.
At the University of Western Australia, Trevor studied Medicine and I Arts, and we had fellowship together in the Evangelical Union. I remember us often having lunch together on the university lawns, with Graeme Gugeri, who was also involved in ISCF leadership, talking and praying about the District Meetings we were running.
Time passed, and with it, graduation. Trevor married Liz and I Kaye, then both couples spending periods abroad. I was best man for Trevor and he would have been for me, except that, by then, he and Liz were abroad. They sent us silver engraved serviette rings which we still treasure. Physical separation did not mean any lessening of the friendship. When, in time, both Trevor and Liz, and Kaye and I, returned to Perth and took up life in the suburbs to raise our families, we chose the same suburb, and the same church, Wembley Downs Uniting.
Trevor made a mark for himself in pediatrics, heading the Child Health Centre and, in time, being named citizen of the year.
A part of Trevor’s and my lifestyle was a weekly prayer meeting in Trevor’s study, and a fortnightly gathering with other likeminded couples, in one another’s homes, to pray for one another’s families – a practice which continued over the rest of our lives.
Trevor and I also participated in the Churchlands Choral Society, which, for a time, Trevor chaired. Even when disabled by his stroke, he sought and obtained support from the group to continue coming to practices and performances.
It was ironic that Trevor, whose powers of communication were exceptional, should have, in the closing period of his life, lost the capacity to express himself. I found, however, that when I visited him in the nursing home, he still radiated warmth when I arrived, and he delighted in hearing scripture read and in spending time praying with me. In these times of prayer I am sure he was getting through to God, though only God and, I think, Trevor knew what he was saying. On one of my visits, one of his co-residents said to me, “He is a good man.”
For me, friendship with Trevor has helped to define, and greatly enrich, my life. He has been a humble, dedicated follower of Jesus whose life has been a source of unending blessing to those who had the privilege of knowing him.
Ian.
