WARWICK NORWOOD LARKINS
1946 – 2015
FUNERAL SERVICE & TRIBUTE TRANSCRIPT
E N T R A N C E
T H A N K Y O U F O R T H E M U S I C - ABBA
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W E L C O M E
Rev. Donald Phillipps
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On behalf of Warwick’s family, and of Ronda, I welcome you to this service, when we will share our grief at the loss of a beloved brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great uncle, and companion – and our friend.
Though our sorrow is deep, and the loss irreparable, there is, equally, every reason to celebrate Warwick’s life. It has touched ours so deeply, and we have benefited so greatly from his countless acts of generosity and kindness. So we will have equal reason to smile and to laugh as we call him back to mind.
We acknowledge where we are. Kings High School was his school – he was of the Class of 1960. His contemporaries then are here today. It is so appropriate that we should honour him in this hall of memories. The family thank the Rector for making this place available as the setting for our service of remembrance.
At the conclusion of the service, the family only will be accompanying the casket on its final journey.
You are invited, therefore, to join the family for refreshments at the Forbury Park Conference Centre – formerly known as Wobbly’s. For those for whom stair-climbing is a difficulty, it is suggested you park on the track-side of the Forbury Park buildings – access is easier from there.
This is not the place and time when every memory is to be shared. The family has asked some to speak to us now who had particular experiences of Warwick and his gifts and graces. Forbury Park will be the setting for more personal and informal story-telling.
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O P E N I N G W O R D S
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Friends, we are here because Warwick Norwood Larkins has died. We have gathered because in one way or another Warwick’s death affects us all.
In our coming together we reaffirm that each of us is linked to the lives of others. We draw strength from each other’s presence in the face of the mystery and the fact of death.
We come to stand alongside Warwick’s family in their grief – to reflect, to remember, and to give thanks for his life among us. We bring our thoughts, our feelings, our memories – for our lives are always touched by others. We are not alone.
So, as we come together, it may be that we will want to reaffirm our trust in the God who will not desert or fail us.
To pray is simply to think seriously – so let us do just that:
Support us, Lord, all the day long of this troubled life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, Lord, in your mercy, give us safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.
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T R I B U T E
Stephen Larkins
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V E R A L Y N N M E D L E Y
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A L J O L S O N M E D L E Y
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T R I B U T E
John Knowles
Warwick Norwood Larkins MNZOM, 1990 Medal, JP, Marriage Celebrant 68 years old
The Lark, Fox of Fox Hall, Uncle Fox …how do you sum up a man who has touched the lives of so many in a positive way? A caring, generous, warm-hearted, loyal and selfless man for sure. Someone who would never hesitate to help others…without a doubt. A man with a bit of the Larrikin in him who loved socialising …quite. .A man with an eye for beauty or should that be the opportunity for a beauty? a huge fondness for music and a great love of sport, especially cricket, a fountain and outstanding chronicler of historical knowledge and detail, absolutely (the Hocken library values his history of Albion and KHSOB) An enduring sense of humour (remember his answerphone messages…it was worth striking him not at home to know that he was doing his piano practice or whatever). A great story teller and always good company… of course. A defender of all things Otago, and when it came to encounters with Canterbury on the losing side, a prolific sender of emails followed by phone calls. A strong sense of community and service to the community, a regular blood donor (75 donations over 44 years). A flag flyer…Anderson’s Bay will definitely be the poorer without a daily display of one of the 303 of his inventory of flags up the pole at Fox Hall, A major pivot for the Albion cricket club and Kings high school, especially the Old Boys, a very good friend to the redoubtable Peter Sellers (the best source of Peter Sellers stories).and a man for whom his immediate family was very important, Denise and Stephen, his nephews Greg, Simon and Joshua and his great nephews and nieces, his late parents Norrie and Pam, his wider family and more recently especially Ronda. And in turn a very much loved brother, uncle and dear dear friend.
Your presence here today in overwhelming numbers is in itself a salute to a man whom we hold in dear and warm reflective respect with love and admiration for what he has meant to us everyone liked Warwick.
Warwick has been a Dunedin man all his life. From early childhood in Cranston Street, he went to Andersons Bay Kindergarten….he remembers being roped to a chair by Miss Tilbury for pushing a young lady into the sandpit….goodness knows what effect that had on him….But a story typical of Warwick, many years later he discovered Miss Petrie, the owner of his Andy Bay kindy, was alive and living in a rest home…Warwick not only looked her up and had many a chat about the kindergarten and its pupils, but he took her out for rides in the car … once out to her own old school at Outram and he got huge pleasure out of attending her 100 th birthday celebrations.
Andersons Bay primary school had its ups and downs for Warwick …early on he was severely reprimanded for visiting the girls toilets too often…and on another occasion he managed to misinterpret the instruction to feed the goldfish he was looking after during the holidays…instead of a pinch of food, he thought they could do with at least a couple of tablespoons. No fish in the classroom next term!
After primary school, Norrie and Pam contemplated sending Warwick to Waitaki Boys to ‘straighten him out’ but in the end it was off to Kings High. And although his reports reflected that ‘Warwick does well at the things he likes, but is not interested in the things he doesn’t like (mind you who doesn’t that apply to?) this was the beginning of ties which remained for the rest of his life. Doug Jackson will expand on these in a moment. But suffice to say Warwick had very fond memories of Kings … and he considered that the nine strokes of the cane he received in his four years there were more than enough….his tally was minor compared to is peers.
In his early working life he had jobs with Farmers Mutual Insurance (not suitable because he wanted to pay a lot more out on claims than the bosses wanted), The ANZ Bank for nine years including a very brief stint in Nelson….mind you he started at the bank under the misapprehension that as banks closed in those days at 3pm…he’d be home by 3.30…well, not quite as there was a lot to do once the doors closed.
He took six months’ leave from the bank to travel to the UK to watch his life-long friend Glenn Turner play for Worcester (and Glenn will tell us more shortly) and not long after returning to Dunedin took up a job with the Otago Education Board for five years as Secondary Schools Salaries Officer. But again he took leave to in 1978 join the NZ cricket team as scorer on a tour of England and Holland…more on this soon too.
He eventually returned to the Education Board working with the Schools Boards of Governors and as Executive Officer staffing….but this came to an end when the Education Boards themselves were disestablished through “Tomorrow’s Schools”
He then had various jobs including as a grave digger (with John Bracewell), manager for Otago Netball, working for the Masters Games in Dunedin, a journalist for a Dunedin newspaper, The Exchange, and a job he particularly enjoyed, working for One World of Sport as a field Manager for the television cricket production team (three seasons) and he worked for the Phys Ed School as a special projects officer and also a stint with Central Foods Ltd.
In 2001he returned to his beloved Kings as a sports coordinator where he remained for the next 10 years until he retired.
Throughout his working life he met what he described as many wonderful people and he made a very wide circle of lifelong friends.
Warwick was appointed a JP in 1995 and a year later, a marriage celebrant. Both these roles were time consuming but tasks he undertook with compassion and a high degree of self-sacrifice, going long beyond the call of duty to make sure that all was well; in marriage ceremonies, if he felt he were dealing with a needy case, didn’t charge for his services.
He made a very good fist (as I had cause to tell him) of being a marriage celebrant for 60 weddings, including that of his brother and nephew. On one occasion, at our daughter Katie’s wedding…when Warwick called for ‘can I have the rings please’ our young grandson had lost them … Warwick handled the situation with aplomb while the fruitless search for the remaining one lost ring continued …Warwick held it all together and prevented what could so easily have been a shambles.
Vexillologist…there was a good story in this week’s ODT featuring the what Denise assures us is the Larkins flag flying at half- mast over Fox Hall, so I won’t repeat the detail, but he did have a keen sense of flying the appropriate flag to suit the day, much to the delight of the neighbourhood …to the extent that if there weren’t a flag up the pole, neighbours or passers-by were anxious…Denise in particular would get a call …is Warwick OK?
His passion for sport revolved around cricket and a 52 year association with the Albion Club. He also played rugby and hockey for Pirates. Though he learnt to play the cello and piano as a boy, he wasn’t interested in practising and much to his lifelong regret, he didn’t keep going with these instruments; but he was a loyal supporter of all local operatic and opera companies, rarely missing a performance. Carrying on the tradition of his musical family, he had a great love of music, especially Gershwin, the 1940s American composers, Abba and classical music.
His other interests included reading, conservation, travel, films, the Dunedin Tree Society, Friends of the Hocken, the Otago Commerce Club, Amnesty International and the Light Blues Association.
I am indebted to Denise for extensive notes in preparing for today, also Ronda and Simon…I apologise that some aspects of Warwick’s life have been skimmed over.
But family was Warwick’s first and dominant love. The Larkins were a close-knit family with a huge bond between Warwick’s parents Norrie and Pam, Warwick, Denise and Stephen. He was a much loved uncle…as his nephew Simon says ‘I will always remember walking in Dunedin with Uncle Fox and being amazed at how many people would stop and talk to him…it seemed like he knew everyone in Dunedin. And Simon also says ‘Over the past week or two it has become very evident that Fox meant as much to so many other people in the community…the amount of love and touching tributes to him from all across the world have been unbelievable. Warwick was a massive part of our family and I will sorely miss catching up with him..he had so much knowledge and stories….I could listen to him for hours’.
There was a significant change in Warwick’s life in 2001 when he caught up with Ronda again after many years (poignantly enough at a funeral). They spent much of their time together since with a full social life (music, theatre, cricket, celebrations and the odd party).
And, of great enjoyment to them both, trips…around NZ, the South Island in particular, quite often to remote coastal spots where ‘the facilities’ often caused a lot of laughter.
They went frequently to Australia where they managed to squeeze in a Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and really enjoyed the seafood offerings in Hobart.
And there were trips further abroad…to the UK, USA and Europe…in 2008 the trip included France and visiting friends in the UK, a nostalgic ‘crickety’ trip to Worcester and a few days in Tokyo where Sue and I were thrilled to host them.
Then there was a big three-month trip two years ago visiting New York, Paris, two months in the UK, a much favoured visit to the Channel Islands and a week in Vienna soaking up the music which Ronda describes as completing a fabulous holiday.
For Ronda, as for all the family, life will never be the same again. And for its part, the family is very grateful to Ronda for her unfailing support of Warwick and the happiness and contentment she brought to his life.
Warwick was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver just under a year ago…he didn’t talk about it, choosing to cope with life as best he could. Many could see that he wasn’t the best but he continued to rebuff inquiries about his health and down-played the seriousness of his condition. But he kept going downhill and was finally hospitalised six weeks ago. He battled on, much of the time in bed through chronic fatigue and other debilitating symptoms…as many of you will know he continued to maintain contact with the outside world, welcoming visitors, taking phone calls and reading the many many messages of goodwill. And at each occasion, Warwick took the time to ask after the family, friends or associates of the caller.
Throughout this time he was lovingly and carefully nursed by Ronda and Denise, the last few days at Denise’s place in Mosgiel though he did spend his last few hours at a hospice (at his request) before passing away late last Saturday night.
so Ronda, Denise, Stephen and your families, the wider Larkins family, we mourn with you; a light has gone out for us all…we thank you for sharing Warwick with us and while his innings has been cut short, the umpire has put his finger up. Donald, The Good Book says, in my father’s house there are many mansions, I’d like to think one of them is a cricket pavilion, maybe even as good as that at Warwick’s beloved Albion. As one of Warwick’s former colleagues, Doc Williams, who was the producer while Warwick worked with us at TVNZ says,.”he batted well and should have scored many more runs……..but those inside edges onto the pads and you are given out lbw are not fair…..a bugger….”
yeah yeah yeah…..Good as gold Warwick, you’ll be an important addition in the celestial cricket pavilion. Farewell old friend.
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T R I B U T E
Brian Turner
Warwick Larkins
Whenever I saw Warwick approaching – he trudged rather than sprang towards us - I began to smile, wondered what he was going to disclose, come up with, and say, this time. He could be engagingly dry, amusingly conspiratorial. He knew who we could trust and who we couldn't.
He was unpretentious with an engaging twinkle in the eye. He was wry but not sly: sincere, cheeky, good-natured, helpful...
He had no time for charlatans, or connivers... in sport or anywhere else. 'Cricket – and sport generally's got its share, and it's a pity,' he told me, more than once. And rolled his eyes.
For the most part, Warwick was mild-mannered but no-one's patsy. He was good company: loyal, thoughtful, and accepting of the need for, first, scrutiny, then analysis if we are to refine and improve performance. He knew that as far as many people were concerned, truth was one thing, what we preferred to believe was another.
As many know he flew the flags of other nations and peoples from a pole on the roof at Fox Hall. I took that as his way of showing his welcoming, congenial nature, that he appreciated the value of cultural diversity. But none of that overrode his conviction that we ought to work hard to protect and where possible enhance our places, our localities, our regions. He could see that that is more important now than at any point in our history.
When my brother Glenn phoned and told me Warwick was ailing fast, and after I put the receiver down, I wrote these lines:
Message
(in memory of Warwick Larkins)
A neighbourly rowan’s leaves
are boldly crimson and pale gold,
and I’ve just received a message
advising an old friend’s
been sent home from hospital
for the final time. It’s raining
here in Central, and where he is too.
Water’s puddling on the lawn,
streaming in gutters, drumming
like foreboding on my roof… as if saying
there’s no escaping the hard truth that
nothing’s more real than grief, nothing.
Brian Turner
A few days later, after I'd told my son Andre, in London, that Warwick had passed away, Andre sent me these lines:
Fox
Every now and then
through the years, there's
a unique, beautiful animal in our midst,
One with a sparkle in his eye:
like diamonds glinting on temperamental waters
the sparkle and glint brings joy,
Optimism, naughty cheekiness and
fraternal spirit
to whomever it touches.
This kind of sparkle refracts into the group,
spreads a seed of unity and camaraderie,
community and club spirit through it.
This kind of spirit explores history,
our club and
family trees
And this kind of spirit and
wonderful man was, as Roald Dahl wrote,
"Fantastic Mr.Fox".
Andre Turner
Needless to say we've lost a very good man, … the numbers here today are testimony to that... one who made a major contribution to our society. I'm grateful to have known him.
Brian Turner
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T R I B U T E
Sir John Hansen
Warwick, for the first – and I can assure you, last – time, but just for you, I am wearing a Kings High tie. Indeed, a special Kings High tie, to mark the First XI making the Gillette Cup Final last year – a feat I know you were properly proud of.
To Denise and Ronda, and Stephen and Brian, and the wider family, my condolences. And Ann’s, and her apologies, as she is in America with our son. Also sympathy from John Wright, who is so glad he managed to see Warwick before travelling to India; from Ken Rutherford, Ewan Chatfield, Evan Gray and countless mutual friends in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, USA, Germany and the UK.
When Warwick asked me to speak at his funeral service, I felt privileged. But I also felt an enormous depth of sorrow and a great feeling of emptiness that someone so special to us all would not be with us for much longer. We had all known this, but the suddenness at the end I think took many by surprise.
Our friend was a person of very many parts. Someone with a sly, and occasionally malicious, sense of humour. As sometimes happened, the odd old boy of Otago Boys found themselves in bother with the law – a surprising number, actually. Court suppression orders or not, Warwick, with great delight, a sparkle in voice and eye, would contact me wherever I was to advise that yet another old boy had fallen far from grace. I received an email just the other day from an OBs friend of Warwick’s that suggested that Warwick really had a soft spot for OBs because his dad and brother attended. I can assure all the Kings folk here that there was no soft spot.
There was Warwick the traveller. He enjoyed travel as often as he could, and made friends around the world who, as I've said, have contacted me and expressed their sadness and condolences. And when he travelled he made the most of it. When we were living in Hong Kong, he turned up as part of the Cavaliers Touring Cricket Team. He asked about shopping. I pointed him in the direction of Granville Road, which was well known for clothes shops. In the first two days he bought 15 shirts… all varieties of red and black. He could never explain to me how he devoted so much of his life to a cricket club that shared the colours of the hated Cantabs. During that tour the Hong Kong Sevens were on, and all the touring party attended and retreated at the end of the day to the KCC bar. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing Warwick with a Sri Lankan, a Parsi born in Hong Kong and a Lancastrian from Oldham, singing “It’s a long way to Tipperary” as the night got longer and wetter. Such a typical Warwick scene.
There was the somewhat ribald Warwick. Not an occasion for too many details, but there was the infamous dance of the record covers, incorporating the inside sleeves of an LP. The occasion of our farewell party at John Farry’s place before we departed for Hong Kong, when a number of people were enjoying a very large and new spa, with the steam rising off it in the manner of a horror movie. There was the “BONG” of the trampoline, and the Flying Fox hurtled through the thick mist and plunged into the middle of the bodies. Or the looks on the faces of Zaheer Abass and Imran Khan and other Pakistani players at a party at our place when Warwick entered wearing Ann Sharp’s new, white fur bomber jacket…the rest I will leave to your imagination.
There was Warwick who delighted in entertainment – not surprising, given what he would have heard at home. He revelled in the English comedy of the radio shows of The Goons, Round the Horne and Hancock’s Half Hour. I can remember going round to his place for drinks, along with Ronda and John and Judy Smillie, when I was sitting in Dunedin. This was not long after Norrie’s death, so to round off the night, after Round the Horne and Goons tapes, Warwick played part of the enormous collection of old records that Norrie had. On this occasion the final record played was an old 12-inch radio transcription 78 of Hitler’s speeches. But he especially revelled in the music of the 30s – Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby and Sinatra, The Glenn Miller Band, Noel Coward, Gracie and Vera, and the great English band leader and singer, Al Bowlly – unheard of nowadays apart from Richard Thompson’s powerful anti-war song “Al Bowlly’s in Heaven”. And most of all, Al Jolson. He loved the music of Al Jolson.
He was staying with us in North Canterbury one weekend, and our daughter was there with a friend. He kindly offered them a ride back to Dunedin in the Beetle. It was a very slow and long trip, 6 or 7hours, with interesting driving, including at least one off-road excursion, but they listened to Al Jolson from Oxford in North Canterbury to Dunedin.
There was the Warwick who loved his VW Beetle and its unique number plate, but frankly was a pretty awful driver. If there was anything worse than his driving, it was his sense of direction. One time he left our place at 11am, and we gave him a map that showed the way down Highway 72 to Geraldine, and told him to go across from there to Winchester, and on to State Highway 1.
About four and a half hours later he rang us to say he was lost, and that he was in a place called Methven, which is not much more than an hour’s drive from our place. By six o’clock he rang and said he’d made Winchester. At seven, he rang to say he was almost out of petrol in Timaru – it was Sunday night, the petrol stations were all closed and he was forced to stay the night.
Most importantly of all was, and the word, so apposite was mentioned by Glenn on the phone the other night, the selfless Warwick. I don’t know of any individual in my lifetime who has so unceasingly put others before himself, with kindness and consideration, but occasionally lacerating wit. When we were in Hong Kong, he would regularly call up to see my mother in Opoho, or Ann’s parents in Kaikorai, delivering them lemons from his tree and stories that delighted them. All of you will have experienced something of this nature. That personal kindness showed on a broader level, he cared with devotion for Peter Sellers for so many years, visited regularly with people like John Heslop and Ian Gallaway. In a day and age when society seems to become more and more about self, we can say with some pride that our friend Warwick always put others first and cared deeply about them, even through the last months of his illness.
There is a very, very old West African song that goes:
Do not seek too much fame, but do not seek obscurity
Be proud, but do not remind the world of your deeds
Excel when you must, but do not excel the world
Many heroes are not yet born, many have already died
Setting aside a touch of modest exhibitionism and a forlorn boast of a non-existent wrong ‘un, that song covers all the bases, for me, in describing Warwick. He was all of the compartments I've just spoken of and more, many of them quite different, but really what he was, was the sum total of all of those things. Loving to Ronda and his family; caring to his friends and strangers alike; always optimistic, regardless of circumstances; witty and ribald, with a life-long love of cricket to which he gave so much, even though it had to compete with the music of the 30s, Gilbert and Sullivan, WC Fields, and probably lost out to his beloved Al Jolson.
I spoke to Warwick after his recent and worrying admission to hospital when he had an adverse drug reaction. He told me that he was aware of being in the ambulance, and of a presence. Not Jesus, he said, but Vic Cavanagh and Charlie Saxton. You can see him, now. Round to Mum and Dad’s for dinner Monday, indoor bowls Tuesday; Wednesday, drop into the CT Club for just one; a quick dash to Albion for some maintenance on Thursday; a few wickets on Saturday, followed by the Pirates of Penzance at the Mayfair. Then Sunday School at the Beach on Sunday with the Albion crowd, but also with Vic and Charlie, and I suspect Burt and Langford, there would be some Watsons but also Bing, Noel, Hancock and Milligan, and most of all, Al.
I will miss the “G’day, g’day Pal”, accompanied by that fearsomely strong handshake. I will miss, as you will, the phone calls. I will miss catching up, as we all will. He was the sum of so many things, in other words a bloody good mate.
Rest easy, Fox.
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T R I B U T E
Glenn Turner
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T R I B U T E
Doug Jackson
Good afternoon - on behalf of Diana and myself I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Ronda, Denise and Bryan, Stephen and Sharon and families in the sad loss of Warwick. On behalf of the King’s High School Old Boys’ Association I offer the same sincere greetings to you all.
Warwick’s contribution to the Old Boys, like every other organisation he belonged to, was outstanding and has spanned over many years. Warwick’s years at Kings were from 1960-1963 and he first joined the Executive in 1966. He has been part of that Executive for most of the time since, in one position or another being President for three stints 1981-82, 2001-2006 and 2013 to the present time. He was Vice President many times over including the latest period from 2007-2012 and Secretary from 1967-1971. He was involved heavily in the 60th and 75th Reunions being convenor of many parts of the celebrations and the success of these functions was largely due to his excellent organisational skills. For his outstanding service to the Old Boys he was made a Life Member of the Association in 2003.
His association with the School was greatly entrenched at times being employed as an Assistant Groundsman in the 1980s and then a Sports Co-Ordinator from 2001- 2011. His employment as an Assistant School Board Secretary for the then Education Dept also saw him do time with the School Board in that capacity.
The list of positions he held over the years does not paint the whole picture however. The amount of time he spent on attending to Old Boys matters will never be known but if the number of tasks he took on was any indication that number would be huge. Not only did he take tasks on but he went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure they were done properly and thoroughly. Members would have attended dinners and other functions but would not be aware that at times Warwick would be on the phone night after night ringing Old Boys encouraging them to attend to ensure the success of the function. His knowledge of Old Boys and where they were and where they lived was phenomenal.
However I’m sure Warwick took a lot of pleasure out of what he did and some of the projects that came to fruition made him very proud. He was involved with the School and worked closely with Dan in the setting up of the “Wall of Fame” and another project he spent considerable time on was the School’s NZ Representatives which are displayed in one of the School’s corridors. Another of “Fox’s” project is an Archives Room for the Old Boys which is part of this building. The way he has outfitted the room with photos and memorabilia is outstanding. He has left us, no doubt being very proud of what the School has achieved particularly under Dan’s leadership and his wish to have this service here today reflects his loyalty to the School he so loved. Knowing Warwick I don’t think he will stay idle for too long and don’t be surprised that in the next Kingsmen there will be advice of a new branch of the Old Boys set up in that big mansion in the sky. From all the Old Boys of the School and our Committee we say a huge ‘thank you’.
From a personal view I would like to share some memories I have of Warwick. We were both brought up in Anderson’s Bay and came through Kindergarten, Andersons Bay Primary School and then of course Kings. Fox was the best man at our wedding and we have remained very good friends since those days. I’m not sure that was a good idea letting him loose with three bridesmaids for the day!! Warwick’s friendly nature and interest in people and organisations was not confined to Kings alone and for years he visited one of our Kindergarten teachers Lulu Petrie until she died recently at the age of 101. From our years at Anderson’s Bay Warwick kept in touch with those we went to school with and there was a regular group who have kept in touch by email from time to time. He was again deeply involved in the Andy Bay School reunions and ‘rounded up’ those in our own year encouraging them to attend.
I have many memories of going to rugby matches outside of Dunedin with Warwick – down to Invercargill for Otago/Southland matches – up to Christchurch for All Black tests and in 1967 followed the Otago team on their North Island tour in my 1960 Humber 80. I remember we were thrilled to be given free tickets by Bugs Taylor for one match and we were shown to this tiny derelict stand on one side of the field and sat alone for the whole game while the locals sat in a better stand on the other side of the field. After that tour Fox organised a piper to welcome the Otago team on to the field for their shield challenge against Hawkes Bay which was held about two weeks later. Wellington.
I was invited to several of the Larkins family functions and it was always a pleasure to be part of such a great family and their friends. I recall one such night at Musselburgh Rise, which coincided with a rugby test overseas, watching Peter Sellars down on his knees in front of a large wireless trying to listen to the commentary which in those days was almost like shortwave coming through the airways.
Like so many other people we each have our own memories to hang onto of such a giving and unselfish person. Warwick gave so much to so many people and our lives have been enriched by knowing him. I will treasure those memories forever.
May you Rest in Peace Warwick.
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C L O S I N G W O R D S
Rev. Donald Phillipps
In just four lines Brian Turner exactly described cricket as I know it:
‘A game about which
you can know very little
and say anything
and be right sooner or later.’
Well over 40 years ago it was exactly that feeling about the game that first brought me into Warwick’s company. I was brought up in family with what might be called very traditional views of cricket, and in Warwick I found a kindred spirit. Quite recently we had begun what we hoped would be a regular lunch-hour of reminiscence, both of us with so many wonderful memories to share.
Cricket is a game you can love – so passionately, so humanely, so irrationally – that when you meet another of your mind he, or she, has to be a very wonderful friend. Together we could be analytical, or poetic, or nostalgic, or dismissive – or even fearful for cricket’s future. The game we love shouldn’t be tampered with. When we sat together I think we both probably talked at the same time.
If Warwick could love the game like that, then he had to be a good man. And good men, and good women, care for others. That is the mark of Warwick’s life – his devotion to the good of his neighbours. In cricket, in his old school, at work, and in every way possible, he cared for others.
He has time to give, to others. Just three months ago I asked him if he would take on another job. He immediately said, “Yes.” But it was not to be. That sort of generosity made our days more effective, more enjoyable, more memorable. Everyone who has spoken has said something like that.
That is his best epitaph. That was the flag he flew. That is why we are here, and why, when we leave here, we will always remember him with love and affection.
Thank God for the life, the love, and the friendship of Warwick Larkins.
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H A K A
Kings High School Students
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Committal (Please stand)
We come now to the very simple, and final act, of committal.
Since the earthly life of Warwick Larkins has come to an end, we commit his body to be cremated:
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, trusting in the infinite love of God.
Warwick, go from this world in peace, make the journey that re-unites you with those who have gone before you. Go in peace.
Warwick, I have done what you asked me to do. May the Lord bless you, and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up the light of his countenance, and give you peace.
And may God’s peace go with all of us, today, and always.
Amen
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E X I T
L O V E I S H E R E T O S T A Y - Patti Austin