A Tribute to Nick Beharrell
Given during Nick's memorial service held 26/5/2011 by
Technical Team Manager, Chris Sullivan, School of Physical Education
Life and death are full of ironies aren’t they? Here lies this incredible man known for his huge heart, a heart of gold, yet it was his heart that failed him. The heart that failed him, of course, was just a body part, something we all have, but the heart of Nick that we all know is truly unique. That heart was absolutely massive and will run forever, fuelling the memories of a truly top bloke.
Nick loved his job. He started work as a gymnasium and outdoor education technician at the School of Physical Education just over 17 years ago and he quickly became an integral member of the Technical Support Team and the School. Not only was he incredibly knowledgeable and skilled in his particular area of support with the gym and the outdoor education programme, but he was a wealth of information on just about everything else in the universe. The number of times he would jump in to a conversation with the most mind numbingly trivial piece of information was incredible. You name it – he knew something about it. Books, movies, music, the planet, the universe, Star Wars, Star Trek – anything!
Another irony is that this man was legendary for wearing shorts and jandals all year round, no matter what the weather. He instantly distrusted anyone in a suit. Yet here we all are today, dressed up in suits to farewell him. I wonder if Nick is looking at us now and saying, in only a way Nick could say, “What the hell are all these idiots dressed up for?”
I still remember vividly the sight of Nick at the School’s very first Wall of Fame induction ceremony held at the Otago Museum a few years ago. Nick was the “bouncer” for the night. There he was dressed in a suit he had hired especially for the occasion, and he was wearing jandals!
Nick was also an incredibly vital component of the social fabric of the Tech Team and the School. I relied on him heavily to keep me in touch with happenings that I would have missed had he not been there. Nick was a great source of information and could always be relied on for a good bit of goss when he opened up after a few beers at the Team’s regular Friday night drinks.
It was rare for Nick to miss a Friday night session. When he was absent the first thing anyone said when they walked in to the workshop was “Where’s Nick?”
A true sign of someone who was held in the highest regard by his team mates.
It was equally rare for Nick not to be present at morning and afternoon tea time in the staff room. Rain, hail or shine he would make a point of being there to share in the general chit chat with his colleagues. Even when the outdoor ed store was shifted to its current site in the former Wickliffe Press building, Nick would still make a point of walking the two blocks to the PE School for a cuppa and a yarn and if he wasn’t there the same question would invariably be asked “Where’s Nick?”
It was if the party couldn’t start until Nick got there!
Nick was a true team player.
It was Nick who introduced some of us in the Team to the wonderful world of multisporting, signing Nigel and I up to enter in the inaugural Gold Rush multisport race with him as a three-person team back in 1997. Some of my fondest memories of Nick are from those times we competed in the Gold Rush over the years. He hand built the kayak we used in that first year, “Big Yellow” it is affectionately known as and it still resides in the OE Store to this day.
Over the years we competed in the Gold Rush, Nigel and I developed a strategy for dealing with Nick’s…… curiosities we’ll call them. For instance when either of us came in to transition to hand the bib over to Nick for him to do the next leg we would no longer get flustered and scream at him to stop mucking around. We learnt to let him finish his cigar, take his top, or gloves, or hat, or top again, on an off as many times as he wanted and just let him go when he was good and ready. The more you screamed at him…. The longer he took!
Paradise Camp was also another huge part of Nick’s life and there are many present here today who knew Nick through his involvement with Camp who could undoubtedly tell many great stories of their experiences with him.
Providing the logistical and technical support for camp was Nick’s baby and I left it entirely in his hands, there was absolutely no need for me to check up on him, or interfere in any way, I just knew what ever needed to be done would just get done. The only thing I had to sort out was who else from within the Tech Team would go to camp with Nick as they had to have certain “attributes” that would make them compatible with Nick – namely they would have to know how to cook because Nick didn’t!
I’ve been to camp three times and not once, not one single time, did Nick cook a meal for himself.
However, the one-on-one time with Nick at camp was something I will treasure forever. We would talk about anything and everything, anyone and everyone. He was this incredibly philosophical guy who was just so easy to converse with on all levels and his love and affection for Paradise, the land, the environment, the natural beauty of it all was evident in everything he did there.
And who could forget those hilarious, thought invoking conclusions to the evening radio scheds at camp. One that was recalled to me by one of the team as an example;
“There are three types of people in the world – those that can count and those that can’t.”
The alto ego Alfonso holds dear to our hearts.
Nick was a hugely generous man who gave himself without question and without the slightest hint of wanting any form of reward. He did it because he just loved being helpful and being part of something. All the times he would come in after hours or over the weekend, to make sure gear was ready for a practical that was going out, he never once requested any overtime payment or time in lieu.
To Janice, Holly and Gemma – thank you so much for sharing this truly great guy with us here at PhysEd. We have been incredibly lucky to have had the services of Nick over the last 17 years and the memory of him will echo around the corridors of the School, and his spirit will fly free among the rivers and valleys of Paradise for eternity.
The world would be a better place with more Nick Beharrells. We’re going to miss you mate, Friday night drinks are just not going to be the same without you.
Kia Kaha brother.
