Pittwater Life June 2023 Issue

Life Stories
Continued from page 37
Social Justice Group; secretary,
Narrabeen-Pittwater branch of
the ALP; secretary, Mackellar
Federal Electorate Council of
the ALP (both Pam and John
ran the election campaigns for
Pittwater and Mackellar from
the 1990s to present); member,
finance committee of the NSW
branch of the ALP; pioneer
volunteer, Sydney Olympic
Games; assessor, AUSTSWIM.
That list is not exhaustive.
John’s looks similar, though
toss in positions with the
Elanora Community Centre and
the Narrabeen Scout Group, as
well as refereeing duties for
state basketball and the NSW
Rugby League.
As a couple, John and Pam
were proof that you can be
a pillar of society but still
recognise (and protest) its
failings. Both marched for
nuclear disarmament in the
1980s when the Cold War
was casting its shadow over
everything. In 1984, John
handed out how-to-vote cards
for Peter Garrett when the
Midnight Oil frontman ran as a
federal candidate for the newly
formed Nuclear Disarmament
Party. Here again, John cited
the influence of his father: “He
hated war with a vengeance”.
A life of service won’t make
you rich, Pam says, but it offers
priceless rewards. One is that
it links you with likeminded
people, fellow travellers who
share your love of this or your
thoughts on that.
Another benefit, Pam says,
is that, in a small way, she and
John helped put federal Labor
back in power in May last year.
Not having “come down in
the last shower”, she knows
politics is polarising and that
others won’t share her fond
memories of the change of
government. But as she sees
it, “Australia’s now in a much
better place. [Labor] looks after
people. It’s progressive in its
social policies. I’m Catholic,
but everyone has a right to feel
secure, happy and loved.”
Family First
It’s not as though John and
Pam devoted themselves to
community in lieu of raising
a family. Between 1965-’85,
they brought six children
into the world – Stephen,
Katherine, Peter, Helen, Kali
and Rebekah. They now have
10 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
Recently, with the help of
Jayne Denshire, a Hammond
Care Palliative Care Biography
Program volunteer, John
produced a short book about
his life, A Fair Go For All, in
which his children open up
about their dad. Clearly, none
of them feels deprived for
having had such a busy father.
This from Kali: “I will
remember you as a great
storyteller, teacher and
philosopher. I will remember
you for your empathy,
kindness, fairness and
humbleness.”
Katherine recalled a verse
her dad used to sing to her
from Nat King Cole’s Pretend:
Pretend you’re happy when
you’re blue
It isn’t very hard to do
And you’ll find happiness
without an end
Whenever you pretend
Likewise, Pam has shown
she will do anything for her
children. In 2000, she donated
one of her kidneys to eldest
child Stephen. From her
adolescence until eight years
ago, she also made 108 blood
donations, stopping only when
her doctor ordered her to.
Shortly before we parted,
John told me the story of how
he’d started feeling ill in April
2021, of the grave diagnosis
and extensive treatment, how
his cancer seemed beaten but
then returned, how he’d now
exceeded by a couple of months
the timeframe doctors gave
him. “I’m on borrowed time,”
he said, matter-of-factly.
Quite rightly, Pam has the
last word in John’s book.
I would not have wanted to
spend my life with anyone else
but you, John – my husband, my
hero, my best friend. You have
borne your illness so bravely.
You never complained or asked:
Why me?
Vale, my darling. Safe
journey.
* Editor’s note: John Ward
passed away peacefully on
May 22, five days after being
interviewed by Pittwater Life.
With Pam’s permission, we
publish this piece as a tribute
to John and to acknowledge
his and Pam’s selfless,
decades-long contribution to
the Beaches community.
38 JUNE 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991