I still can not believe that you have gone and that I will never be able to see you and that smile of yours. I miss you so much dad that it hurts so badly. I wish I could turn back the time and have you back so that we can be all one big happy family like we used to be. I will never forget you. I love you forever and always. I know that you are around I can feel it.

Death is nothing at all… I have only slipped away into the next room, I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no differences into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me. Let my name be ever the household name that it always was. Let it be spoken without effort, without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that is ever meant. It is the same as it always was. There is absolutely unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you for an interval somewhere very near… just around the corner. All is well."

Tony's Euloge I've had family members that have died. This is the first time that I have lost a Close friend; A Best Friend. Tony was the kind of guy that would do anything for you, anything for anyone. He was always there for me, since the first day I met him. "I knew him for over 23 years and the biggest enjoyment in his life was being able to do things for others, so I’m glad that i can do this for him. 23 years ago I had the privilege of becoming a friend of Tony’s. As a newly trained Sprog fresh out of the Factory, He took me under his wing, he shouted at me (Often), got me drunk (Even more often), took me to all those places your parents told you not to go too and tried his hardest to educate me (which involved lots and lots of talking and as we all know Tony could talk). We always confided in one another (We would be on the Phone to one another for hours) and we believed in one another. I’ve now lost that presence of a person being there that had that confidence in me and I the confidence and belief in them. Tony was full of life, he was the kind of friend that everyone always hopes they have. Well, Tony what can I say, your final performance is a sell out. The number of people not only here today, but who have sent E-mails, Telephoned and visited Lydia is testimony to the warmest, kindest, and most generous human being that any of us have had the pleasure and privilege to know and Lydia’s, Michelle’s and Melissa’s loss is shared by all of us. I have no doubt Tony died the way he lived with a smile on his face and that's how we will all remember him. He never had a harsh word for anyone--well, except for those who weren’t doing what they were told. It would be impossible, in such a short time to talk about all of Tony’s many wonderful qualities at any length, but it would also be totally wasted, since anyone who knew him for more than 20 minutes will be only too well aware of them. His warmth, generosity, honesty, enthusiasm commitment, drive and professionalism (By the bucket load), were all legendary (whilst serving and within NAAFI). He was extremely passionate about everything he did and never more so when it came to his hobbies in life...football (Supporting Sunderland), Playing golf (when he could get some in) and his all-time favourite “Bruce Springsteen”. But there is another side to Tony that we are all in danger of overlooking. He was a highly intelligent, very articulate man with a shrewd business brain. There is no point in attracting work if you can't then deliver but Tony always made sure that happened. A friend of mine who once met Tony after he had left the Army and went to work for NAAFI Financial; said it was always a pleasure doing business with Tony because he knew the work would be done, on time and to his satisfaction. We are all grateful to the Padre. Springford for conducting this service and I would like to say to him that although Tony wasn't a practising Christian, a Christian spirit towards all that new him oozed from him every pore in his body. Tony was the modern day Good Samaritan, no matter who the person was, he would help. For all the many friends Tony had; the one person who mattered most to him was Lydia, his soulmate in life. Some of us were fortunate to spend time with them and it was during those times that you could see how truly devoted he was to Lydia. She meant everything to Tony and I know the deep love they had for each other means the golden thread between them remains intact and their partnership in life will remain forever. And in Michelle and Melissa, he has two daughters in whom he was immensely proud. They, too, had a strong bond between them and they regularly spent time together as a family. The spirit of Tony lives on in you both and I can pay no greater compliment to him than that. In the film, The Shawshank Redemption, which is basically about hope, Tim Robbins' character remarks on the eve of his escape from prison after 20 years that he is faced with a choice - he either gets busy living or he gets busy dying. I urge all of you when you leave here today to hold your heads high, smile and get busy living. It's what Tony would have wanted you to do.