Dedications to the Memory of
Brother Brian Mark Thomas
Brother Brian Thomas on Brother Brian
Thomas' Life and Competition History 1974 - 2002
Brother Brian Thomas' Message to
the World Throwers on the 2002 World Cup
Brother Brian Thomas' Wunderbah
testimonial about his friend Günter Wandtke
Günter Wandtke -
Brother Brian Mark Thomas passed away piecefully this morning [21
April 2002] at 3.40 AM Australian Eastern Standard Time. For the
last hours of his life Brother John Hay of the Burwood community and
another friend were at his bedside and accompanied him.
A gathering of friends is planned for Wednesday to exchange
stories and accounts of Brian's life and the funeral service is
planned for this coming Friday [26 April].
We of the Boomerang Throwing Association of NSW lost our president
of many years, our main driving force, a top thrower and most
importantly a friend. Pretty much the same applies to the Boomerang
Association of Australia, who had there National Championships this
weekend in Perth and dedicated a special throwing session to Brian.
Brian also ment a lot to many international throwers. I'm sure we
will be able to create a forum dedicated to the memory of Brother
Brian Mark Thomas
Brother Charlie Smith - Dear
Friends of Br Brian Thomas, Some of you may have already heard
the sad news that Br Brian passed away on Sunday morning at 3:40 am
(Sydney time). He died peacefully with Br John Hay and Mrs Joan
Rafferty by his side. We thank you all for your prayers,
thoughts and best wishes during Brian's illness and we ask that you
continue to pray for him that God will reward him for the
extraordinary life that he lived. I am sure that you would agree with
me that Brian touched the lives of many people both in his years
as a teacher and as a boomerang enthusiast. I am sure that we
will all miss him very much. If you would like to send any
concolences or greetings by e-mail could I ask that you send them to
Br Brians e-mail address: b_thomas@sia.net.au
This will make it a little easier for me to find them and if
necessary reply to them. At present the funeral arrangements
are as follows: Friday 26th April at 1.30 pm (Sydney time)
St Marys Catholic Church, Concord Then to Rookwood
Cemetery. Once again, many thanks for your support and prayers.
Please read the Wonderful Eulogy that
Tony Butz gave
at Brian's funeral.
Please read Brother Rod Shoebridge's
Eulogy for Brian.
Please read the poem that Bob
Burwell wrote for Brian and see the Photos
that Bob Supplied of Brian's Burial
Günter Wandtke -
(written for Brian's funeral ceremony). It is with great regret that
I'm unable to participate in today's ceremony for my friend, Brother
Brian Thomas, who's life I was happy to be a part of for the last 17
years.
Brother Brian Thomas is one of the kindest souls I've ever met,
his shere presence fostered the spirit of friendship and mutual
caring. We met through our common love and enthusiasm for the subject
and sport of boomerang throwing and had an immediate rapport. Brother
Brian Thomas was one of the first Australians I met while still
living in Germany and the positive impression he left maybe had
something to do with my decision to make Australia my new home. Many
others of the international boomerang throwing fraternity learned to
know Brian in the same way and expressed their high esteem and lately
their care and concern. Somebody mentioned to me that if there was to
be such a title, Brian would have to be called the patron saint of
boomerang throwing. He also was a devoted and faithful friend for the
Janetzki brothers, who took up our sport at a rather late stage of
their life and today , partly through Brian's initiative are
recognized as some of the all time greatest geniuses in the art of
making and decorating boomerangs. We from the Boomerang Throwing
Association of NSW have lost our president, our main driving force,
tireless organizer and heart and soul of our association. We will
face an uphill struggle to keep alive what Brian has started but see
it as our responsibility and heritage to keep Brian's spirit alive
through our increased commitment.
We also feel, that Brian through his example and love has brought
the core of the Christian message to countless people from many walks
of life, not through preaching and indoctrination but through letting
God's love permeate his heart and whole being, so he was a light
visible to many. Rest in peace, Brother Brian Thomas and may your
light join with its source and continue to shine.
Terry and Margaret
Patterson - Br. Thomas was one of the greatest persons I have had
the pleasure of knowing. He was a great friend, a work colleague at
St. Pius X College at Chatswood and indeed a member of our family.
The children miss him very much, as indeed he was like another
grandfather to them. He will live on in our hearts. May the good Lord
bless him and may he find perfect throwing conditions.
Margherita McCaughey -
May I share with you some special moments I have had with Br Mark
Thomas. He is a man I met through the Congregation of Christian
Brothers. I knew him as a Christian Brother and as a friend. I was
new to my workplace and he was introduced to me as a Christian
Brother who threw boomerangs. He successfully talked me into
attending one event and from there on, I made every effort to pull
together the "McCaughey Clan" to attend most of the tournaments. My
friendship with Br Mark was more than throwing boomerangs. As I lived
locally to him in Burwood, we would, on many occasions walk around
Burwood Park or he would drive us both down to Cabarita and we would
both walk around the bay. On a couple of occasions, we would sit and
watch the sunset and then go home. Coles was a common place to meet
by accident. On many occasions I or John would drop in to pick up a
few things and there he'd be with a trolley full of groceries. I will
miss him. I will also miss the afternoon teas. During a recent
Christmas holiday break, he rang to say, I've got an afternoon tea
prepared - pop over for a cuppa, and we did. The Sydney 2000 Olympics
was another of the special moments I shared with Br Mark. The
paralympians were coming up through Burwood and on hearing the
helicopters overhead, we both walked down to cheer them on. I am a
lucky person to have Br Mark on two home videos. One tape is a day at
Oxford Falls throwing boomerangs and the other is part of the Sydney
2000 Olympics. There are many more little stories and memories I
could share with you but for now, I ask God to bless and keep him.
The most treasured memory I have is when I had a chance to say "I
love you Br Mark" and he said it back. We waved goodbye to each other
as I left his hospital room. He died three days later. Please see
Margherita's Photos of Brother Brian
Thomas.
Ben Ruhe - For those of us
who shared his time, he was part of the luck we had.
Richard Harrison - I
was privilaged to meet Brian on several occasions. However, most of
my contact with his was via mail. He would send me the current BAA
news letters, and always writing a kind note, and ALWAYS, he'd
enclose finger-flick, paper boomerangs that he had cut out. He was a
real ambassador for the sport, and certainly will be missed.
Yohinobu Sakimitsu - Boomerang
friends, It is of the greatest sadness that Br.Brian Thomas has
passed away. We would like to express our condolences on the death of
Br.Brian Thomas. As with many other boomerang enthusiasts, my
boomeranging was very much influenced by Br. Brian Thomas. It was
during my stay in Sydney 24 years ago, that I first encountered the
"Boomerang". Br.Thomas gave me a lot of opportunities of
boomeranging. He also took me to the Albury competition, where I met
Janetski brothers. I am including a few photos
of Br.Thomas when he visited Japan in September,1983. One of
the photos was with a group of people was taken in Sydney in 1996
when the Japan-Australia Sports Exchange Program was held. I was a
coodinator of the Japan side, while Br. Thomas was coordinator of the
Aussie side.
Zoran Jarnovic - I
respected Br. Brian very highly and I'm proud he considered me a
friend! I thought of Br. Brian Thomas as the "Kind Angel of
Boomerangs".
Dean Kelly - So sad to
hear about Brian's passing. I had posted his prayer on my monitor and
would remember it every day. No doubt that now he is with his loving
Lord.
Francois Besoli - In the
name of France Boomerang Association, and all the french throwers, I
would like to offer you our sincere condolences, and our deepest
sympathy.
Barnaby Ruhe, PhD - I simply
remember a horse field in New Zealand with Bro Thomas chucking a
Janetski Admirals Hat of the collectible variety but not for show, oh
no, but rather a 50 meter silky flyer bucking weird winds smoothly
for no nonsense returns, the porsche of boomerangs and the brother
threw it so that it did the job. This in '96 when the same best toss
was seen by me in my callow andraw youth in '81 but without the same
soft enjoyment then as now.
Eric Darnell - I first met
Brother Thomas in 1981 in Melbourne, a very windy Melbourne during
the Challenge Cup. At that time, Fast Catch was a fairly new event
[sometime during the cup trials Doug set a new world record of 33
seconds]. Anyway, there was no time limit, you had to catch 5 for
the clock to stop. It was very windy and we were all struggling.
Brother Thomas's turn came and the wind came up some more. He threw
well but the wind was stronger and his rang was blown 50 or 60 meters
down wind time and again. Once in awhile he made a catch and we all
cheered knowing it could have been us in that wind. After 3 or 4
minutes he was out of gas but still crawling back up wind for another
go when we all decided enough was enough and told him to stop, he had
made 4 catches and proved himself and it was more important for him
to survive than to continue. We all applauded his efforts!
Our next meeting in the land of OZ was in Barooga in 1988 when
Chet, Barnaby, and I represented the U.S. at the World Cup. He
introduced me to Bluey Roberts, a very talanted artist and thrower.
Bluey and I ended up doing a video together about where boomerangs
came from and where they were going. The U.S. won the first test with
some luck and survived the second test and had a sizeable lead going
into the third test when Bunny Reed and Brother Thomas came to see
me. They said we were killing them on the field and the press was
killing them in the papers so couldn't we lighten up on the points on
the field? I told them our scoring was an act of desperation, just
trying to hang on[we remembered how easily they beat us in
84]. We did manage to hang on and win the cup but I think
Australia won the third test so it was good.
The last time I saw Brother Thomas was at the 2000 Cup and a very
touching thing happened. We arrived back at the dorm together after a
long day on the field with some time before dinner. He invited me to
his room to see some of his boomerangs, so of course I went. We
chatted and he brought out the finest collection of Janetzki's I have
ever seen. We discussed them at length and I lamented on the fact
that I had never bought one when they were affordable. There was one
I especially admired, not the prettiest, but one that had been thrown
in competition by the Janetzki's. It had a comfortable worn in feel,
it felt good in the hand. We talked some more and I said I needed to
go get showered for dinner when he reached over and handed me the one
I had admired and said he was giving it to me as a tribute to what I
had given to the sport! I was speechless. I was honored that this
great man would give me such a gift. I thanked him as best I could
and stumbled out of the room.
Brian was truly a great man, a generous,caring,and kind man. I
will miss him, he was the keeper of the light.
Dietmar Reinig mit großer
Betroffenheit haben ich die Nachricht vom Heimgang von Brother Brian
Mark Thomas aufgenommen. Ein großer Verlust trifft uns durch
sein Ableben. Brother Brian Mark Thomas war stets ein fröhlicher
Mensch, dessen gute Laune auch auf andere übersprang. Wir
erfuhren auch, dass er schon längere leiden musste. Wie viel
Tapferkeit gehörte dazu, seine Lebensfreude sich dadurch niemals
nehmen zu lassen. Ich sprechee Euch und seinen Brüdern mein tief
empfundenes Beileid aus. Ich werde Brother Brian Mark Thomas immer im
Gedächtnis behalten. Mit stillem Gruß, Dietmar Reinig
Kendall Davis - I first
met Br. Brian at the WBC in Edwardsville, IL (read St. Louis) in
'98. I had trouble finding the dorm where all the boomheads
were staying, and when I finally found it, one of the first Ozzies I
met was B.T. We spoke a bit, then I said I needed to find
some lunch. He said he was also looking for some place to eat,
so we drove into Edwardsville and had a burger at the local Steak
& Shake. That was the first time I ever saw anyone eat a
burger with a knife and fork. I felt almost primitive eating
mine with my hands... We spoke for quite a while, and upon
returning to the dorms, B.T. handed me a Dave Martin boomerang he had
signed "To Kendall from Br Brian Thomas 26-7-98" Later in the
week, he invited me up to his room and proceeded to trade several
Aussie-made boomerangs (along with one of his making) for some of my
humble rangs. I thought he was just being kind, but at the
holiday season of 1999 I received a Christmas card from him with a
postage stamp he had made of himself standing in front of some of his
boomerangs, but he was holding the Falcon I had traded to him
the previous year. THAT WAS TOO COOL!!!! God Bless
Brother Brian Thomas!! I here-by make a recommendation
that he be canonize as the Patron Saint of
Boomerangs! "St. Brian, bless us as we throw - that all
our throws will be true, and all our missed catches will
teach us perseverance."
Stuart Jones - Br. B
was a great promoter of the sport of boomeranging, as well as God. We
met about 3 times over the years, in the U.S. twice at international
events and in Australia where I was on the Aussie team, and had him
as my next door neighbor at the WC. He was so busy with organizing
his fine collection of rangs all his spare time, I wish I could have
visited longer. How about this story? When we were travelling with
Bruce Carter in his Boomerang Bus to the Seamist boom throw we had a
packed van, and Br.B was also there, suddenly the U.S. team bus
pulled up beside us, as we continued ahead (everyone was laughing)
when Gregg S. pulled out a playboy centerfold and stuck it to the
vans window, by now we all were really laughing, but in front of Br.
B.? As I spun the camera around , there he was joking and laughing
like everyone in the vans. One great moment with Brother Brian
Thomas. God Bless & rest in peace Brother, we will miss you.
Danny Ray (rockinbrodan)-
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Brother Brian. I know
Brother Brian is rejoicing on the other side. His race has already
been run. He doesn't have to suffer any more. One day he will have a
Christ-like body that will never be sick or die again. Praise the
Lord! I would imagine the Lord had a Gold boomerang waiting for him.
He did a lot for the Lord and for the Sport of Boomerangs. He will be
missed. My prayers and condolences go out to his family that the Lord
will send His Holy Spirit to comfort them through this loss. It may
be a loss to us for those of us that knew him here on God's Earth,
but it was a GREAT GAIN for Heaven, because the Lord welcomes one of
His children home!!
Jim Bradley - while i never
met Brother Brian Thomas, we were in correspondance for a while
(while I was developing the Canadian Boomerang Association). I was
always thrilled to receive one of his letters. Through his letters,
one could tell Brother Brian Thomas was truly a generous and
inspirational individual, as unique as the sport he loved. What can I
say that hasn't already been said? We Love you. We'll Miss you.
You're our Inspiration. Love and Condolences. - Jim
Kelly Boyer-Sagert - While I
wasn't fortunate enough to meet Brian in person, I'll never forget
how kind and encouraging he was to me when my book about boomerangs
first came out. We exchanged correspondence and his caring
personality shone through, from half-way around the world. When my
husband, Don, did get a chance to meet him, he confirmed that Brian
Thomas was even a better friend in person.
Denise
Kozlowski - When I was 16, I bought
a few boomerangs from the Boomerang Man. I met Brian through
correspondence and we were pen pals for years after. But we lost
touch many years ago and I was just able to get back in touch with
him via email about 3 months ago only to find out how very sick he
was. He helped me thru a very awkward time in my life, taught me alot
about boomerangs and I still have several that he sent me years ago
that he made for me. His boomerangs help me to remember the help he
gave to me.
Ted Bailey - Hi Brian,
I hope the internet service in heaven allows you to connect to these
web pages so you can see how much you were loved and admired by
others in the time God gave to you here on earth. For the past 20
years, you have been a wonderful friend as we exchanged boomerangs
and information for our newsletters. The boomerang world will never
be the same with your passing. Your leaving us has left a great
vacuum that can never be filled. Thank you for your love and
friendship and for the spiritual guidance that you provided to me
over the years. I will do my best to make you proud of me in the
remaining years that I have in my life.
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