George Abel was a strong man, the patriarch of his family, and fearsome to many church pastors when he served as Head Elder of Warragul SDA Church. He died today, one month shy of his 90th birthday. To me he was Pa, a forthright figure of my childhood that mellowed with age into a man slightly confused and happy to laugh. These are some of my memories of Pa.
- He had one of those country voices that could be heard almost to the back boundary of the farm when he barked "Oi!" from the back porch.
- I distinctly remember one Saturday night at Nana and Pa's house when Pa would not let me watch The Young Talent Time Show because he was watching an AFL game (he was a big Hawthorn fan, I think). Perhaps I can trace my emnity with AFL back to this moment...The royal wedding of Charles and Diana happened when we didn't have a tv at home. I remember sitting through the ceremony in Nana and Pa's lounge room, perhaps there were no AFL games on that night.
- For many years we had Christmas Dinner with Nana and Pa. Something agricultural was always going on, bringing in hay, or collecting sileage. I remember Pa chasing the sons away from the Christmas Dinner table to finish the job, or else we had to sit and be hungry before the big meal waiting for all the men to come back to the house and get cleaned up.
- He was a member of the generation in the SDA church in Australia who knew everyone, and it frustrated him if he couldn't place someone by the name of their parents, uncles, grandparents or the person who taught them at school. When I was talking about someone he would often ask "Who was their father?"
- I remember the dark, earthy smell of potatoes, and Pa always asking "you got enough spuds?"
- Spirited table conversation at combined family meals usually resulted in Pa declaring "Now, listen here!"
- During the 7 years I was in Papua New Guinea Pa was frequently puzzled but delighted that I could do that sort of thing and at one point be my husband's boss (good for me to continue the Abel name into leadership!). I know he was proud of me, as every visiting pastor to Warragul church who happened to meet me afterwards remembered Pa and knew about my work with ADRA.
- In the last few years he lauged a lot, before his memory faded too much. His laughter was nice to hear, and to me it seemed he reserved it for his great-grandchildren. I am sorry that he did not get to spend that much time with them.
- He loved his big room, with his chair facing the wide open green views of Mt Worth.
Pa had a traditional Christian faith, and I am sure he probably held onto it at the end. Tonight I showed Alesia a photo of Pa and told her that he died after his accident. I explained that was why I was a bit sad. Alesia didn't miss a beat, she told me not to be sad as we would see Pa in heaven pretty soon. She's right. See you soon Pa.
