It is with great sadness that I advise you of the passing of Keith McCredden who many of you would have known from his long association with OTC and the OTVA.

Bob Dean has passed on the sad news that Keith lost his battle with cancer this morning. Keith had been suffering ill health from cancer for about 5 years and had been in palliative care in hospital for the past few weeks. Gai and his family (sons: Ian, Jamie & Andrew) were able to spend the past 2 days with him and were at his side at the time of his passing.

Many of you will remember Keith from his days in the Message Relay Switching Centre (MRSC) as well as when he was appointed to several management roles across Head Office, Broadway & Paddington.

Keith always had a smile on his face and a funny chuckle as a laugh that set the platform for a warm friendly relationship which he would extend to all with whom he met.

Keith also came out of retirement in 1992 to support Mike Hofman and Bill Millar in the Optus Network Operations Centre for about 5 years.

Keith was a good friend and colleague to many of us who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him over the years..

Keith was a real gentlemen and he will be missed by his family and his many friends and associates.

May He Rest In Peace.

If you would like to send Gai and Keith family members a Tribute to Keith please email it to president@otva.com and I will share it with Gai. Please advise if you ALSO give permission for me to upload your Tribute to the OTVA webs site for others to see and remember Keith.

Peter Tuckwell has advised:

I received an email from my Antarctic crowd that VIN GIBSON (ex-SOR) passed away on Thursday 10^th June.

He was 98 or 99 years old and a true gentleman. He had a great outlook on life.

I do not have a direct contact with his daughter but hope to get details.

Vin wintered at CASEY station as a Radio Operator 3 times: 1973, 1976 and 1980.

I visited him last in 2019 but spoke several times on the phone in recent months.

 Regards,

Peter Tuckwell

Vin was a regular contributor to OTVA Newsletters. His contributions can be found in the following newsletters:

Nov 1990 pp 174-177

Nov 1991 pp 232-235

April 1992 pp 299-302

Nov 1992 pp 314-316

Nov 1993 pp 400-402

May 1994 pp 463-465

May 1996 pp 648-651

Richard Faddy has passed on the sad news that Paul Black passed away on Monday 7 June 2021.

Paul’s sister, Muriel, had contacted Dave Stimson who has advised Paul’s friends and colleagues from his days in OTC.

Apparently Paul went downhill rapidly over the last month – heavily drugged and could not eat. So it is a relief really for his family who have had to watch a decline in cognitive reason and awareness for just 18 months. Very sad.

May He Rest In Peace.

Dave Izatt advised that Paul Crowe passed away from pneumonia on Saturday 5 June 2021 @ 3:30pm in Calvary Hospital.

He is survived by his wife Jenny, their three sons and their families. Paul and Jenny were married for 48 years so he will be greatly missed.

Dave met Paul in the early 1990’s when he joined the OTC International Finance Department. He said that his job was to count “beans” and well all needed  to work hard so that there were Plenty of beans to count. As he lived in the shire he acquired the nickname, “shire man”.  He was also a music buff and labelled the fax room world map with some unique places. The one place that Dave can remember was Lubbock, Texas, which he was to learn was the birthplace of Buddy Holly.

The above photo is  related to the Cronulla Polar Bears swimming club of which Paul was a member from 1992 until his passing. He was  the brains trust behind the Green Slugs relay team.

To honour his outstanding involvement with the Bears, the Paul ‘Supercoach’ Crowe Shield will be awarded to the relay team closest to their nominated time.

Laurie McIllree has advised the following:

I received a phone call from Christopher Beaumont tonight (17 May 2021) sadly informing me that Ross Beaumont passed away last night or early this morning at his home.

Details of the funeral service for Ross will be communicated once we are advised.

Ross’s professional expertise, with his vast knowledge of radio engineering science, was what all of us who worked with him will remember. Whenever we had a technical problem that seemed too difficult for us to resolve, it was time to call for Ross’s help.

Below is a MS&RS work photo of Ross Beaumont taken in 1998 wearing his Telstra pager

Also another of Ross pointing out a cave he first discovered as a boy, on the Lane Cove River, after spotting it from his canoe. It was part of our Great North Walks. This cave was believed to be lived in during the Great Depression. The groove was cut to collect water & Ross said it was originally sealed with bitumen.

Ross Craig has advised that Charlie Rudd passed away Saturday 8 May 2021 after a long fight with cancer.

Jane, Charlie’s wife, has advised that a funeral service will be held at the Uralla Cemetery at 3.00pm this Friday, 14 May.

The service will be streamed on line. More details in a day or so.

Geoff’s daughter, Rebecca, has advised the Vets of the passing of her father last Saturday (10/4/21). Geoff’s wife predeceased him by 15 years.

Geoff was 84. He’d had a leg amputated and was in a nursing home but was very happy there, and kept himself very busy writing memoirs, working on the family tree and enjoying himself.

He had 4 children and 9 grandchildren all of whom (and old friends) visited regularly so he was well looked after. He relived his days at OTC and regaled all of us with stories!

Vale Geoffery Ainsworth Ivers, 12/10/36-10/4/21

Geoffrey was a talented engineer and much-loved father and grandfather. Born in Cootamundra, he attended Canterbury Boys High and studied engineering at The University of Technology (later UNSW), starting in 1954.  He started at OTC in 1968, and remained there until he retired in 1994. Geoff spoke very fondly of his time at OTC, his many work trips overseas including a two year stint in London in 1976-77. Geoff’s wife Gaynor died in 2005 but they had many happy years together and travelled extensively. Geoff remained living in the family house until 2019 when he moved to aged care. He was much loved by his hour children Rowena, Rebecca, Roberta and Cameron, their partners and his 9 grandchildren.

The funeral will be livestreamed on Tuesday April 20 at 2pm with a wake from 3pm at Kareela Golf Club. Please RSVP to rebeccaqivers@hotmail.com.

May He Rest In Peace.

Laura, daughter of Duyet (pronounced Dwight), Laura, & his widow, Robyn has contacted Dave Wicks to advise that Duyet passed peacefully on the 3rd April from a long term illness with family around him. He displayed strength and spirit to the end.

Funeral Service:

Monday 12^th April, 2021 at 2:15pm,

Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, 199 Delhi Road North Ryde.

From: Gregory Sachs

A very sad message as received from Gay O’Connor, MOC’s wife.

Moc died last night. In my arms. I can’t really believe it but he has struggled so much for the past few weeks that my grief is tempered by the knowledge that his struggles are at an end and he is finally at peace. He has fought this friggin disease for 15 years and last night it won

I can’t speak highly enough of the palliative care people at Manly Waters. They have been wonderful

My poor Mocca. 😞. But suffering no more Gay x

Nick O’Connor, MOC’s son, has advised that the funeral service for MOC will be held at:

11am Wednesday 14^th April

St Mary’s Catholic Church

Manly Freshwater Parish

6 Raglan Street, Many NSW 2095

Best parking will be in the nearby metered carparks.

After the service, the family has invited attendees to Canapes at the Novotel Manly Pacific on nearby North Steyne.

Nick and the family are hoping that many of the MOC’s friends and colleagues can make it to join  with them in the celebration of his life and to bid him a fond farewell. I have no doubt that there will be many stories told and we will learn many things about MOC that we did not know previously.

Bruce Boler has relayed the sad news of John’s passing which he received from one of John’s sons, Skander.

David Waterhouse has relayed the sad news of John’s passing which he received from John’s wife, Bini.

Bruce reminds me that:-

John was one of the guiding lights in the success of OTC International and was present pretty much from the beginning of OTCI.

This is to inform you that Ian William Ruthven (“John”) Malcolm, of Woollahra, NSW, Australia, died on 28^th February 2021 after a short illness. He is survived by his wife, Bini, and three sons – Robert, David, and Skander.