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 - 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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