By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
ANDREW Groh’s smiling face looked down from the screen inside the church, where hundreds of people gathered for his funeral.
The Maramba Primary School principal passed away from cancer on 23 May, surrounded by his family and loved ones in much the same way that so many people were brought together on Friday at the Berwick Church of Christ to bid him farewell.
The church was packed, with many people forced to stand on the sides and at the back of the room, despite the cavernous space.
Andrew had had a most powerful effect on each of those in the room, with many school children wearing their Maramba colours filling the hall.
Andrew’s wife Alison and daughter Tahlia delivered tributes to their husband and father, while his sons Jordan and Lachlan read their dad’s eulogy.
Nearing the end of her tribute, Alison read a poem she’d heard from a film, which she said she knew “would be exactly how I felt if I was to ever lose him.”
“He was my north, my south, my east and west,” she read.
“My working week and my Sunday rest,
“My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song,
“I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong,
“The stars are not wanted now, put out everyone,
“Pick up the moon and dismantle the sun,
“Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood, for nothing now can ever come to any good.”
But despite her grief, despite everyone’s sadness, Alison vowed to continue on, and promised to take her family with her.
“Even though that’s how I feel at this time, my love for my darling will last forever,” she said.
“And even though this has absolutely devastated me, and my beautiful children, and grandchildren, I promise to keep going in honour of the beautiful life we created.”
For more coverage of the funeral, read the News next week.
