“My Dad had the bluest of blue eyes and was such a gentleman, probably the kindest man you were likely to meet.” These are the words of Lisa and Danielle McGill following the passing of their father, Alan McGill, on February 19.
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Alan was born in San Souci, Sydney, on May 4, 1948, to Albert and Ellen McGill. He was one of two children. He grew up in Gymea, leaving school in 1966. He started teachers college before changing career direction to take up a position with a Sydney surveyor where he worked for more than three years as a survey assistant.
He was later offered a position with one of the biggest contractors in Australia – Leighton Constructions. He worked with them for eight years as an assistant surveyor when they were constructing the Fitzroy Falls Reservoir, rock canal and Tallowa Dam.
Alan went on to work with Bowral Municipal Council in November 1976 as an engineering draftsman. He remained in Local Government working through the amalgamation of the old Mittagong, Bowral and Wingecarribee Councils in 1981. He notched up 36 years working for council before his retirement in 2012 due to medical issues.
Lisa and Danielle said their Dad spent much of his retirement planning adventures for when he was out of hospital, and the epic Christmas lights showcase at his Retford Road home in Bowral.
However, he will be remembered first and foremost as a family man. He married his wife Norma Gill on January 25, 1975. They celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary this year. The couple had twin daughters Lisa and Danielle. The sisters said they were always made well aware by their Dad that they were the “apple of his eye”. “We were honoured to have been his daughters,” they said.
“He was the kind of dad who read to us every night as children and would get so caught up in the adventures of the Famous Five that once we were asleep, he’d continue reading to himself.
“He was the one that spent hours detangling our long hair, doing school projects and the kind of dad who would look after you in the middle of the night when you were sick, ‘cause Mum was bloody hopeless when you spewed. I am so glad I could do that in return for you.
“Dad was crazy intelligent and planned everything in meticulous detail - who could forget our holidays with his bloody ‘clip board of fun’. He loved animals and always had a dog following after him and I often thought he had better conversations with them than he did us.
“One of my earliest memories is falling asleep, being serenaded by jazz which he listened to when he was studying or pottering around in his den. It will forever be one of my last memories of him as the Glenn Miller Band played as his heart stopped and my heart broke. Love you mate now and forever.”
Family and friends will say farewell to Alan at the Church of Christ, Wingecarribee Street, Bowral, on February 27. The funeral, overseen by Lady Rose Funerals, will begin at 1pm.