Sidney Stuart-Menteath Obituary

For Dad
Dad struggled through life when he was young
His absent father never knew his son.
With his mother and sisters they worked the land
Trying to find ways to meet life’s demands.
He tried to help out with all his might
By catching trout and selling newspapers at night.

He suffered poverty through the depression years
But his resilience was built through work and tears.
Through trials he developed into a strong person
With a heart, purpose and determination
Who knew how to work and who knew how to stand
For those whom he loved and those who needed
a helping hand.

He was under age when he went to war
And didn’t like to talk about the things he saw
We heard about the friends he remembered and lost
This challenged his faith and he questioned the cost.

His mother gave him a love of the farm
So he began to share milk and it worked like a charm
Then he met a beautiful lass whose name was Jill
She was a Land girl who farmed down the hill
They courted and then married, and a few years later
They bought a farm at Koromatua -100 acres

Along the way children arrived - 6 girls and 3 boys
A troop to be reckoned with, and oh what a noise.
Sometimes it would get too much
With chores not being done and fights and such
But when Dad would come home it would all get sorted
And over dinner we would be exhorted.

It was a task to keep track and attend all the sports meets
With horse riding, rugby, tennis and swimming events
But Dad always did his best to try to attend
And he would drive us to events during the weekends.

I remember while at Pony club I was dragged
by my horse
I was kicked and trodden on while Dad
was watching of course.
I could see him trying to stop the horse and
waving his arms
But the horse was frightened and didn’t
realize my harm
So with severe bumps and bruises, he drove me home
I was fortunate not to break a bone
He carried me inside and put me to bed
And a few days later I sat on the horse while he led.

He had a terrible memory for dates so
to help him remember
We would tie a string around his little finger
In the afternoon Mum would get a telephone call
And Dad would ask what the string was for.

The farm was a wonderful life for all us kids
Each had our own pets but one
stands out – Audrey, the pig
Audrey was Trisha’s pet; she loved to
slosh in the drain
She would come inside if she could
because she was so tame.

One day my sister and I left the back door open
When we came home, we found such a commotion
The pet sheep had entered the home
And left their trademarks wherever they roamed
The dogs and pups had joined in the fun
Barking and nipping their heels and making them run.

With swiftness we started cleaning before
Mum and Dad arrived
But alas, our plan didn’t work as much as we tried
Dad arrived first and took in the situation
He didn’t yell, or even blame, he just took action.
He said, “Lets clean this up before Mum gets here”
So with a mop in hand he took on his share.

All was cleaned up or so it was assumed
Until Mum came home and took a package
down to Bruce’s room
There she found Audrey, the pig, lying on Bruce’s bed
On the pillow Audrey laid her head
She opened her eyes and as if to say hi, and grunted
Then she dropped her head to sleep uninterrupted
She had been down in the drain that day
And all the linen and blankets were a dirty grey.

I remember Mum’s large vegetable garden
and fruit trees galore
How they helped with the budget but we always
needed more
For school fees, books, school camps and sports
For new clothes, shoes, and bills of all sorts

Dad worked so hard but the farm just wasn’t
enough to keep us all fed
So Dad employed a farm hand and began to
sell farms instead.

One day he visited a farm where they had
Dachshund pups
They were going to kill them if someone didn’t
pick them up
That evening Dad gave us this tiny pup as a surprise
We had wonderful memories with Gerda, playing seek and hide.

A lot more could be said
But it would take a book and time to be read
But this poem is just to say
Thank you for the memories and molding our lives in lots of ways
By passing down your values and your work ethic too
And for just being you.
Love Judith