Retiring legend’s life full of giving

WOODRIDGE’S Patrick Crilly has not lost his soft Irish lilt even though he arrived in Australia nearly 50 years ago.
Neither has he lost his love for the Church nor supporting the vulnerable in his role as senior field officer for Home Assist Secure Services for some 18 years.
Yet the Derry City native proved to be retiring in both senses of the word at the farewell lunch held in Woodridge’s St Paul’s parish hall on August 2.
His own speech at a recent luncheon to mark his retirement from Centacare about his contribution to the community was brief, modest and halting.
Firstly he acknowledged the support of his colleagues.
“We all help each other,” he said.
“I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with.
“That’s one thing that brings you into work each day … when people are a pleasure to work with and be around…it’s really not about the money.”
Typically, he managed to make light of the heart attack before Easter, which had brought his retirement plans forward.
Patrick acknowledged he should be considering more exercise given the condition.
Then the cheeky Irish humour emerged.
“I think we should also raise the matter of exercise with Fr (David) Batey (Woodridge parish priest),” he said.
There was sadness as well as celebration at the farewell lunch, which had drawn Church and civil officials including Brisbane archdiocese’s vicar general Monsignor Peter Meneely, archdiocesan Centacare executive director Peter Selwood, Member for Woodridge Desley Scott and Logan deputy mayor Russell Lutton.
Also present were his colleagues from Home Assist Secure Services branches including Caloundra, Caboolture and the Gold Coast.
Centacare Home Safety Services manager Noel Webster said “this turnout to farewell Patrick shows how much people think of him”.
“It wasn’t really until two years ago when I took over as manager that I actually learnt all the different things that Patrick’s done,” he said.
“What he does outside his job with Centacare is ongoing.
“It might involve taking a socially isolated old lady to a doctor’s appointment, dropping off a loaf of bread to a family or just sitting down having a talk, just being a companion … he does these sort of things every day.
“I’ve never known him to say a bad word about anyone – he always sees a bit of good in everybody.
“That’s the sort of person we’re going to lose and we’ve taken it pretty hard…but it’s also exciting because Patrick is now going into another part of his life.”
Listening to reminiscences from colleagues, I heard other stories of Patrick’s many kindnesses.
“Often, he would arrive at work looking extremely tired,” one colleague said.
“On one occasion I asked him why and he said he’d been up till midnight dropping off milk to the children of people with drug addictions.
“He said he had to do it as it wasn’t the children’s fault they were in such a situation.
“Really, he’s a legend in his own time.”
As the lunch started to wind down, Patrick and wife Lorraine gave more background to their nearly 40 years involvement in the Woodridge community.
They had quickly become an integral part of the parish following their move to Jean Street, the same street as St Paul’s Church, the school and other parish buildings.
“We’d been involved in parish work at St Pius’ parish, Banyo when we came here to Woodridge as a newly married couple in 1974,” Patrick said.
“At that point, Mass was held in school classrooms and we both got involved in fundraising to help build a permanent church.
“I had a background in surveying and knew a bit about building so ended up doing handyman stuff.”
Lorraine started as parish secretary around 1990, a role she will leave on August 30 to join Patrick in retirement.
In 1994 Patrick became part of a small maintenance program operating under the auspices of the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Catholic Social Response took over the program in 1995.
 This became the Home Assist Secure Services program, which Centacare eventually ran.
Patrick said there had been tremendous personal satisfaction in the work.
“I was able to install home security to make the elderly and other vulnerable members of the community safe,” he said.
“These people were able to call on someone for assistance knowing they would be getting decent people to come and would not get ripped off.
“I also installed grab rails and carried out other modifications for the elderly and disabled.”
So what had kept Patrick so involved in his work for all these years?
“It was the people,” he said.
“Not only clients but the people I’ve been working with.
“As said in my talk at the party earlier, if you didn’t have goodness and kindness amongst your workmates it would be very hard to keep going.”
Retirement had been on Patrick’s mind “at maybe Christmas or whatever” until his heart attack just before Easter.
“I’d been set to do my usual decorations of St Paul’s Church for Easter, the same as I had done since 1974, when it happened,” he said.
“The heart attack said more or less ‘go and do it – retire’.”
He and Lorraine will move from Woodridge to Marcoola.
The couple say they are looking forward to the sea breezes.
Still there’s some doubt the retirement will be complete.
 “There is always someone needing help wherever you go,” Patrick said.