Vale Terry Oakes-Ash OAM (1937-2021)
Born in Norfolk in England in 1937, the eldest of eight kids, Terry flew the coup after meeting Joy, a local lass at the village dance who would become his wife for 57 years. With three daughters under his and Joy's wing and a ten pound airline ticket they arrived in Australia in 1970, a land and time where old school ties were set aside in favour of having a go.
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Terry had a go from the beginning, landing himself a gig within the resources industry, climbing the ranks first in Queensland, then Sydney to the upper echelons of Boral Resources Australia as chief operating executive. Over a decade he grew turnover from $140m to $1.45billion.
But he wasn't always about numbers, Terry's true gift was people. He loved them, never suffered fools lightly and was not afraid to tell it as he saw it was. Collaboration, to him, was always key.
Leading 4500 people at Boral, he was known for checking in to ensure everyone from grass roots to top of the tree felt heard. It's a gift he brought with him to the Southern Highlands when he "retired" to Burradoo in 2001.
But retirement was never an option for a man who would later spend Covid on Zoom meetings when his beloved Bowral café meet ups were blocked. The same man who still read board meeting directives while in palliative care for the liver cancer that would take his life.
His last 20 years on paper are impressive. Sitting on boards from the Construction Industry of Australia to Premier Resources, Tat Hong Holdings, Ecoflex, NSW Chamber of Mines, International Road Federation, NSW Employers Federation, Construction Industry Institute, Grow ACC Sydney and, Asian Business Connection. The list of presidencies and chairman positions goes on, and on, and on.
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But it was in his own backyard where he excelled in a town he adored as much for its English flare as its Don Bradman heritage, the perfect fusion for a UK born cricket fanatic who loved to wear whites and bat with willow in his youth.
Terry led the Bowral Chamber of Commerce in his early Southern Highlands years, then added the Southern Highlands Business Chamber, the Illawarra Business Chamber and RDA Southern Highlands to his list. He was integral to drive and change within the region and cared greatly about employment and community welfare, co-founding the Southern Highlands Key Stakeholders Group and was a founding committee member of the Wingecarribee Shire Council Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
He took his role as vice chairman of Challenge Southern Highlands as seriously as he did chairman of the Salvation Army Southern Highland Red Shield Appeal and his role with the Upper Lachlan Shire's Back a Bushie Anglicare Appeal. Add his board support with the Mary Poppins Committee, Oxley Partners, Youth Radio 92.5FM and the board role with Interchange he held until his last breath.
We could list more, but Terry was more than his CV filled with entrepreneurial spirit. He was a man who cared about animals, loved dogs from the day he was born with his collie Judy by his side.
He loved Jaguar cars, The Young Ones, served the Save the Koala Foundation for five years, was obsessed with jazz and travelled the world multiple times a year. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2016, loved making summer berry puddings at Christmas, and wasn't bad at billiards.
A man who was as proud of his three daughters, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren as he was his beloved Joy who left his side seven years ago, also from cancer. In the last years of his life he enjoyed the company and love of local artist Kit Bullivant who travelled the world with him.
The mark of a man is often revealed after they have left this earth. The words kind, gentle, cheeky, mentor, advocate and optimism have flooded social media tributes since Terry went to that big meeting room in the sky.
He never had billions of dollars to contribute, just hundreds of thousands of hours of life experience that he was always willing to share. As Winston Churchill said "we make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
We asked him in his final weeks what he thought his life purpose was.
His answer?
To help others.
You did good, Terry, you did good.
The funeral service for Terry Oakes-Ash will be held at St Jude's Church Bowral at 1pm on May 20, followed by a life celebration wake at Southern Highlands Winery.
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