ࡱ>   Root EntryZ O2򏚽CONTENTS 8CompObjVSPELLING(unately rare qualities in politicians. Or I could tell you all about his devotion to family. Two families! The Johnstones and the Towlers. Providing us the foundations of love, truth, respect of others, a love of knowledge, a sense of humour and a commitment to excellence and integrity. His reward was the love of two extraordinary women, my mother Gladys and after her passing, that of Florence. I will never be able to be able to thank you for the love and care you gave to Dad. He was a lucky man to have you. He set a high bar for me as a Father, and I promise him here and now that I will continue his legacy as a Father to my daughter Ursula. I could blab forever regarding Dads deep respect for our history and culture. He never let us forget that it was Scottish blood that graced our veins. He instilled rich heritage and our sense of clan, and was proud to wear our tartan, not as some costume, but as a badge of honour. He played the pipes and made sure that I did too& I will play them for him today, to give the old chieftain  a proper sending off , and when his ashes are finally spread, they will mix forever with the soil at the border castle of Lochwood Tower, which since the twelfth century has been the home of our ancestors. Hours could be spent talking about his mind. This is a world where  genius is used carelessly and frivolously, and yet I unhesitatingly use it to describe my Father. He could instantly analyse any problem ceaselessly work and adapt any tool until an elegant solution was found. He was practical, inventive and wise. As a kid I believed he knew everything and could do anything, and as I grew up and learned more my self, I figured out that he in fact DID know everything and could do anything. I could bang on endlessly about the giftsCHNKWKS 8TEXTTEXT$FDPPFDPP(FDPCFDPC*STSHSTSH,STSHSTSH,2SYIDSYIDP,SGP SGP d,INK INK h,BTEPPLC l,BTECPLC ,FONTFONT,<STRSPLC ,:PRNTWNPR-jFRAMFRAM|5TITLTITL6JDOP DOP N6"egrity. His reward was the love of two extraordi Eulogy For my Father, Bernard Joseph Johnstone. Thursday 25th May. 2007. Thank you everyone for coming and to help celebrate my Father's life. I am happy to be able to look and see the faces of those people that were special to dad. Your presence honours me but more importantly, it honours my father and I thank you on his behalf. There is some deep irony that my Father was a great reader of gravestones and said that it reminded him that the time here is fleeting and precious, and not to be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life. He believed that life is ours to be spent, not to be saved. He told me that when one reads the dates of a person s life we may see 1926-2007, but it is not the dates themselves but the " - " in the middle that is important bit. With that lesson in mind, let me try to tell you about Dads & middle bit. I could speak of his sense of duty. Of his yeas 30 as a fireman.. Rushing in when everyone else is running out. He felt a brotherly connection to and made friends with fireman all over the world.  The blue stuff goes on the red stuff he said  we do the same job& and for the same reason. When we leave here to today my fathers casket will pass through the fire station engine house en route to the crematorium, where they will ring the turnout alarm for my Fathers  last fire . Thank you guys, he would have loved this. I could go on about his selfless work as a mayor and councillor. For a quarter century he had the privilege of serving the community he loved. Working to a benchmark of common good and beyond the dogma of party politics. His personal mandate was to follow his conscience and trust his instincts. He had a high sense of fair play and the need to leave things in better state than you found them. All unfort he gave me. A deep love of nature, a respect of science and a passion for the arts. He tempered the solid facts of physics and astronomy with a shamanistic message of awe and wonder. He never let me get too lost in the numbers and details without stepping back to take in the majesty of it all and let out the occasional loud  WOW . Although I lived half a planet away, I was never further away than a taught. Space-time renders distance obsolete. The  far away comes in with square to the plus and the  time ago with a square to the minus, each cancels out the other and the separation is then zero. I believe that notion extends to dimensions not yet conceived or imagined by science. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a place, but a state of mind, or a state of energy. Everything my Father has taught me - and continues to teach me - strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death. Nothing disappears without a trace.  WOW If you want to be with Bernard for a while, at any time, from anywhere & just think about him, and allow that separation to dissolve away. He will be there to meet you. as some costume, but as a badge of honour. He played the pipes and made sure that I did too& I will play them for him today, to giv3b R NP& $$%%&&&&&&&&&&&&(2"'( ) @S  x|&&&&& ""  "  ""  "0"  "0"  ""  x9x9 " "tt&(&*(x9Times New Romanx " " "XXK*KG>HP PSC 1600 series!@h߀ odBeRLdwkswpdHBeںں\\PC325862970629\HP PSC 1600 series,LocalOnly,DrvConvert&winspoolHP PSC 1600 seriesUSB001F"v ""Ga"$c"` "``""A."@"v ""Ga"`"` "``"."Dad eulogy Thursday May 31 2007.wps""d5 "d5 5 (" )" other and the separation is then zero. I believe that notion extends to dimensions not yet conceived or imagined by science. 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