Davo Neyle has relayed the sad news of the passing of Darrell.

A very belated notification of the passing of Darrell Hegarty, ex OTC Training Officer, from the 70s and 80s.

By coincidence, a distant in-law relative of Darrell’s has started working for me recently at the Bega Repair Café.  Yesterday he started talking about this relative that died last year and his involvement in the navy.  The story sounded very familiar, and he confirmed it was in fact Darrell he was talking about, and Darrel had died in early 2025.  This chap’s wife is the executor of Darrell’s estate.  Darrell was a single man, and largely kept to himself in his later years, other than maintaining an alumni group for HMAS Perth, his ship when in the navy.  When Darrell died, they couldn’t access any of his computer files or his phone, so as a result, did not know who to contact to advise of Darrell’s passing.  I knew Darrell had moved into Bega but he hadn’t told me where too.  He wasn’t responding to my email or text messages, and his regular Christmas message failed to arrive, so I admit, I feared the worst.

Darrell had relocated and retired to Merimbula NSW in the 1990s, after discovering a cousin, that he’d never really had any dealings with in his life, lived there.  This woman became his only living relative.  Darrell had been managing a serious heart condition and diabetes since he was in his 60s, and eventually it caught up with him, and he moved into a retirement hospital in Bega.  Unfortunately, just three weeks later he fell and hit his head.  I gather it was downhill from there.  Darrell was 83 when he died.

Darrell had requested that his ashes be scattered at sea from a naval boat.  Because of his OAM, and service to HMAS Perth, it was decided to take that one step further.  His ashes were interred in a teak box, which in turn was placed in the bunk space that Darrell had used when serving on the HMAS Perth.  The ship has since been towed out to sea and scuttled, and now serves as a dive wreck.

Many of us who were trainees under Darrell’s watch remember him very fondly.  We even had a touch football team at North Sydney Tech College called “Darrell’s Demons”.  I can recall many a Friday night, having a session at the Bomb Shelter, then escorting Darrell home on the train to ensure he woke up to get off at Toongabbie Station.  Darrell told us there were quite a few times he found himself at the marshalling yards in Penrith after a big night out!

Below is a ‘selfie’ Davo took of Darrell and myself in November 2016.

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Ian McDonald has advised that Alan’s wife, Yvonne, has passed on the sad news of Alan’s passing yesterday (3/4/26) afternoon in Prince of Wales Hospital where he had been receiving treatment for respiratory problems

Yvonne and Alan’s family will be making funeral arrangements for later in the week at the earliest. The OTVA will be advised of the details of funeral arrangements as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

Please advise if you would be attending a funeral in Sydney for Alan so that Yvonne can make the necessary arrangements to accommodate numbers.

Alan was a staunch supporter of OTC, its staff and the OTVA where served on the committee for more than 20 years.

Alan spent 20 years working in Engineering Branch (1962-1982) working in Lae (PNG), Spring Street, Martin Place and Paddington.

Alan then transitioned into a role in Sales & Marketing from 1982 to 1992 working primarily in Martin Place and then Elizabeth Street until his retirement.

Alan was selfless in his devotion to those with whom he worked. He was an excellent mentor to many young techs over the years helping them to establish career pathways that helped them to achieve excellent job opportunities both here in Australia and overseas.

Alan oversaw many successful Engineering Projects that delivered positive benefits to OTC’s revenue and reputation within the international communications community of people and companies.

Alan would have celebrated his 93^rd birthday within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

May He Rest In Peace.

Unfortunately the OTVA received late notice of the Service for Alan so the attendees from the OTVA of which I am aware were:

• Ian McDonald
• Laurie White and his partner, Noelene.

There was no funeral service but a Celebration of Alan’s life was held – Details below.

Date and time: 8 April 2026 at 2pm to 4pm

Venue:    Zetland Child and Family Health Centre

                 Ground floor hall, Tote Building. 

               100 Joynton Ave, Zetland NSW 2017

                 Corner of Austin Grove and Joynton Ave, Zetland

The photo below shows Yvonne Hennessy, Craig Hennessy and Grant Hennessy (back row)

Below is a photo of the venue and some of those who attended the Celebration of Alan’s life.

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Greg Martyn has passed on the sad news of Jan’s passing that he received from John via email.

I talked to John this morning and he told me that Jan had been fighting cancer since 2020. The medication that she had been taking since the initial diagnosis appeared to be working which was confirmed by the monthly blood tests and oncology results but in December 2025, they received the bad news that it had spread and that she had only a short time to live. She was home with the family at the time of her passing.

John is obviously saddened by his loss but has also been heartened by the number of people who have contacted him to express their condolences for his loss and to find out if he (John) is OK. The esteem in which Jan had been held through her life has made him realise what a wonderful person she was and that makes him feel grateful and appreciative.

Funeral services will commence at the Woronora South Side Chapel 01.00pm on 02 March 2026. John has asked that in lieu of flowers a donation to a cancer-related charity would be appreciated.

At the conclusion of this service people will be invited to attend a gathering at the Salvation Army Church, Bangor to celebrate her life. Tea and coffee, light refreshments will be available.

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MARTIN BECK Obituary

Published by Coffs Coast Advocate on Sep. 26, 2012.

BECK, MARTIN WILFRED
25th September, 2012, peacefully at own home, late of Sandy Beach. Dearly beloved husband of Dorothy, loving father & father-in-law of Mark (dec’d), Carol & John Elliott, adored grandfather of Tegen and James.
Aged 77 Years
“Martin’s Last Flight”
Relatives and friends were invited to attend Martin’s Funeral held in the Chapel of Hogbin Drive Crematorium & Memorial Gardens, Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour on Friday, 28th September, 2012 at 3.00p.m.
Friends were invited to join the family in the Garden Lounge for light refreshments following the Service.
In lieu of floral tributes the family asked for donations to the Oncology Unit at Coffs Harbour Health Campus, a collection box was at the Chapel.

Ref:-https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/martin-beck-obituary?id=46116496

For context on the photo below see the comment from Gary Samuels (below)

Dave Charrett advised that John Pitcher passed away last week. 

Kate Rouvray, daughter of Jeanne Luck (nee Fryar), was contacted by Isabella, John’s wife, to let her know that John sadly passed away on Friday, 6 February.

His funeral will be held on:

Friday 20 February at 10:00am

South Chapel, Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematoria 

Kate wanted to pass this information on, as there may be many former colleagues and friends who would like the opportunity to pay their respects.

Kind regards,

Kate Rouvray

Robert’s funeral service was held on Tue 20th Jan at Woy Woy on the Central Coast as he lived at Umina.

Steve Clark believes that Robert (Bob) had been ill for the last 18 months or so unfortunately.

Steve Clark first met Bob around 1989 when assigned to a trainee stint at OTC’s recently opened Oxford Falls Satellite Earth Station. Bob had previously worked at the Moree (NSW) satellite earth station and even possibly Ceduna (SA) before that but returned to NSW to be a part of the Oxford Falls staff.

After completing his traineeship Steve successfully applied to be stationed at Oxford Falls full time and worked closely with Bob as part of the shift environment for many years. At one point he took on the admin role of the DAMA satellite platform hub that serviced many of the tiny Pacific Island nations.

In the early 2000’s Bob took a redundancy and went to Vanuatu to work at a satellite station over there. 

Then in 2008 Bob made a return to Oxford Falls when the site went back to 24/7 shift coverage and needed experienced satellite techs quickly.

By that stage though Bob found the nightshifts a little more challenging and after a couple of years decided he’d had enough and left to pursue some private enterprise opportunities. It is at that time that Steve lost touch.

Steve was saddened to recently learn of Bob’s passing.

He was a very easy going guy, always had a story of his experiences somewhere and held the local crown at OXF as the man who could handle the hottest of spicy sauces!! He also had a brief cameo appearance alongside Steve and a few others from Steve’s trainee group in the “You and Me and OTC” promotional video that can be found on YouTube. 

May He Rest In Peace

Below is an image of Bob and Amanda’s wedding taken by Steve Frendo.

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Len Dooley has advised me this morning (22/01/2026) that he had just heard from the son of John Hampton, Lachlan, that John passed away last August in Florida after complications following breaking a leg in a fall.

Len reminds us that John worked at OTC for many years before moving to Intelsat.

Some of you may have already been made aware of John’s passing but others may not hence this notice on the OTVA website.

May He Rest In Peace

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Kevin O’Brien, Doug Tasovski and others have passed on the sad news of the passing of BobE.

Bob’s passing was expected for some time & although his wife, Jennie, is upset about him going she said he just gave up on life.

Bob E passed away on Sunday after a long illness of over 4 years caused by a stroke.

Jenny has asked for BobE’s friends and colleagues from OTC to be informed about his passing.

EMANUEL, Robert John

April 14th, 1953 – December 21st, 2025

Aged 72 years.

Loved by Jennie and by so many others in Blackheath, around Australia and across the world. He revelled in friendships everywhere.

Go well, dear Robbie.

Please join us to celebrate Rob’s life at Leura Memorial Gardens, on Monday, December 29th 2025, at 2pm, and afterwards at the Gardners Inn, Blackheath.

For funeral details please view:

trbrownjohnmemorialhome.com.au/funeral-notices/

(02) 4782 2613

Published by The Sydney Morning Herald on Dec. 24, 2025.

Fred Kannard has passed on the sad news that Ken Theaker passed away yesterday at his home in Wahroonga.

Margaret Noonan has supplied the details of Ken’s funeral service:

WHEN:               29th Dec at 10.30am

WHERE:             Camella Chapel,

Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium

Plassey Rd, North Ryde.

After the service there will be light refreshments in the associated Wallumatta Function Centre.

Margaret Noonan worked with Ken Theaker, Morrie O’Connor, John Hibbard and others at OTC/Telstra

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Vaughan Kippers has responded to the item on the OTVA website article in January 2016 on Bribie Island Radio.

“I know I’m almost ten years late, but I have a photo of my father, Derk Kippers, “signing off” (using Morse code) from VIB at Radio Street, Pinkenba, in June, 1966. VIB was later situated at 881 Bribie Island Road, Ningi, which is very obvious on Google Earth. OTC built five or six homes for the radio operators, on the western side of Caboolture in the vicinity of the intersection of King Street with Bellmere Road.”

I can’t provide any information about the “event” to which the photo relates. I do know that selection of the site at Ningi involved a long process. On a couple of occasions, I accompanied my father on a yacht that sailed around Moreton Bay, exchanging signals with shore sites that had been short-listed for the proposed site of the new radio station. I was 13-14 years old at the time.