Ronald McDonald Family Retreat® Fiona Lodge

Des Phillips

Des Phillips was a rough diamond with a can-do attitude which infected those around him with the same enthusiasm which drove him during the last years of his life.His legacy to this community and to the many people who suffer as he and his family did from the affliction of serious and life-threatening illness, is a safe and peaceful haven in which to enjoy the most precious things in life.

When Des was first diagnosed with cancer he wanted to fly on the concorde so decided he wouldn't go alone and took a group of sick children on the journey of a lifetime around the world. He fought his illness for many years and used his energy to drive the project that would become Fiona Lodge. Eventually the right forces in the universe aligned and Des was able to gather other like-minded people and harness them to his cause.

A casual, work-related meeting with Jim Johns and Rachael Sweeney turned into a landmark event and soon others - Allan Broadhead from Rotary, Maureen Law, Pat Jeffs with her practical on the ground fundraising experience, Roz and Alan Ball and the motivator Graham McGillivray - came to share the vision. Of course there were many others along the way who fell under Des' spell and wherever he spoke to audiences about his dream, the ranks of supporters swelled. Major sponsors came on board and offered whatever Des asked them to provide.

Sadly Des finally called it a day on January 2, 2000, after celebrating Christmas with his family around him. A community mourned while all the while trying to respect the Phillips family's right to grieve him the most.

At his funeral the eulogy was delivered by an old friend Ken Cush:

"I believe we are all better people for meeting Des. He showed us how a community can adopt a good idea, nurture it, develop it from the abstract to the concrete and how, by working together, we can strengthen bonds between those who are here today and those who will come in the future. Fiona Lodge stands as a memorial to Fiona and to Des, to the people of Bateman's Bay and surrounding areas. It represents the love, humanity and caring a community such as this one can demonstrate."

Afterwards, the Fiona Lodge committee struggled for a time but then gathered their collective energy to continue the work and see the project finished.

They're reminded of Des' passion whenever they recall a special event or view the video tapes of his speeches. Perhaps the most poignant memory is of Des as a torchbearer in the Olympic Torch Relay. On that day he rose out of the wheelchair which he'd been forced into in the weeks leading up to the event and walked the section along Beach Road with by far and away the most road-side supporters. They ran alongside, cheered, unfurled banners, took pictures and called out his name. But Des had all his attention focused on the road ahead and with every fibre in his failing body was striding towards his goal.

Story kindly provided by the Bay Post