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Today was the funeral of Erwin René van der Velden who sadly and suddenly passed away on Tuesday 27th September 2005.
The funeral service was held in Brisbane at 2:00pm and was attended by Erwin’s Mother and Sister (from Holland) along with between 60 and 70 friends and fellow astronomers representing all the South East Queensland Clubs, his place of work (York Optical) and several other SE Qld astronomy retailers.
It was both a farewell to a dear and beloved friend as well as a celebration of the short but full life of a remarkable man who lived life with a passion, joy and an intensity that endeared him to all whom his special gifts and talents touched.
The service opened with the emotional, haunting theme from “Chariots of Fire” followed by a moving speech from the Funeral Celebrant, guiding us from our sadness at the loss of Erwin through to the celebration of his 39 full years on this Earth, during which he pursued the varied hobbies of amateur astronomy, amateur radio, motor cycling, mountaineering, athletics, photography, scuba diving, electronics and computing.
Erwin became an Australian Citizen in Feb 2005 and it was appropriate that part way through the service, “Still Call Australia Home” was played, a fitting tribute to Erwin’s love for this great land down under, which he called home. Erwin was born in Rotterdam on 25 January 1966.
Representatives from the Southern Astronomical Society (Noelene) and the Brisbane Astronomical Society (Tony) also spoke, celebrating the life and achievements of their favourite adopted son from north of the equator.
Renato transcribed a message from Erwin’s good friend Albert into morse code, which was played out as the celebrant read the message - the haunting simplicity of the short beeps were in stark contrast to the immense void that Erwin’s passing has left in our hearts.
The service came to an end to the strains of “Time To Say Goodbye” as we all bade farewell to the bright, young life of this rare human being, whose immortal soul can now sail along the river of light we call the Milky Way. With his beaming smile and that twinkle in his eye, I’m sure Erwin will gaze down and smile at us mortals as we point our optical tubes heavenwards, to grasp the beauty and majesty of this magnificent creation that allowed such a rare and wonderful talent shine amongst us.
Farewell Erwin, God speed and may you rest in peace.
Dennis
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