Eulogy :
Parts written by husband Ross and sons Brian & Wayne
 

Ross:  Grace Doreen Tschirpig was born in Loxton Hospital on the 11th May 1928.  Being premature and not expected to live, she called upon her fighting spirit (as she was to do throughout her life), and survived.
Grace was the youngest of 8 children to Traugott and Anna who were farmers 5 km south of Moorook.  Her father overlooked his duty to register Grace’s birth – a point that was only discovered when she applied for a marriage licence 21 years later.
Life was hard through the Great Depression, so outings were seldom, and toys were few, but what she had were treasured.  The family were devout Lutheran Christians attending the Moorok church.

Grace received her early instruction in the Christian faith from her mother, and in August 1944 she was confirmed in the Moorook Lutheran Church.  She regularly attended church, but surrendered to Christ at the 1959 Billy Graham Crusade in Adelaide.

Grace had many relatives in the Pyap and Loxton districts where they often visited.
She attended the Moorook primary school, by walking 4 km each way daily for a year before transferring to Yinkanie school, which was 3 km each way.  Grace told of how, in the heat of summer during the return journey, she ran from tree to tree for a rest from the heat.  The Yinkanie school closed because of small student numbers when Grace was in grade 6, so it was back to Moorook school, where she completed her schooling in grade 7.  She then helped on the farm with the animals and home duties, there being brothers still at home.  In season, Grace cut apricots to buy a bicycle, so to be able to attend the movie theatre etc. at Barmera 18 km away.

At the age of 17 years, Grace gained employment at Loxton as a domestic at Olga (“Mumma”) Nitschke’s boarding house for a time.  Then to a farm at Cummins.  Brother Alwin’s wife Joan died in January 1948, leaving 2 daughters, so for a year she kept house for them all.  After that, she returned to Mumma Nitschke’s in February 1949, when I (Ross Vogt) was a boarder there.  We soon formed a relationship, and when Grace reached the age of 21, we became engaged to be married.  We wed 2 months later, on the 9th July 1949 in the Moorook Lutheran Church.  During the celebrations, one relative said to Grace, “Don’t worry, dear, what people are saying.”  Well, our first child was born 5 years later – such thoughts had not occurred to Grace or me; it was just true love.
Our only means of transport was a Harley Davidson motorcycle and sidecar, which we used for our honeymoon at the Stirling Hotel (in the Adelaide Hills).  Shortly after the wedding, we lived in my family home at Allendale North.  I formed a partnership with Ted Grigg to start Kapunda Joinery Works, so I travelled in our only vehicle – the Harley Davidson motorcycle outfit.  Grace was therefore without transport during the day, 6 km out of Kapunda.  So in 1951, Grace purchased a Triumph motorcycle, on which she was able to pillion her neice Monica who was staying with her occasionally.

In 1954, Brian was born; then Wayne in 1958.  Grace was now a very busy lady, and made many clothes for the family with her sewing and knitting machines.  Nevertheless, Grace launched herself into a caring and social life, seldom equalled.  Being a good cook, Grace hosted friends from far and wide.  She loved flowers, was a keen gardener and became a trained floral decorator, thus giving pleasure at many functions.  Grace had joined the Methodist Church after marriage, and became the Sunday School kindergarten leader, a member of the Ladies Guild, and was the flower roster organiser for 40 years.
From that time, Grace served simultaneously in the following societies :

Also the following organisations, as a member : Grace’s involvements have drawn many tourists to Kapunda – over 2,000 have visited her home and signed the Visitors Book.
No doubt these activities were persuasive in Grace receiving the Light Regional Council’s “Australia Day Citizen of the Year” award in 2004.
During the mid-1970s Grace worked on a carrot farm, then 12 years as a cleaner at Kapunda Hospital to fund her love of antiques.  These antiques were beautifully displayed in her historic home, an 1845 miner’s cottage.  She helped to restore the derelict house from 1963 when the family moved into Kapunda.

In October 2002 she was diagnosed with cancer in an advanced state.  Major surgery and continued treatments failed to control the disease.  She passed away in my presence at Kapunda Hospital on Friday 22nd July 2005.  Her firm and undoubting faith in her God carried her through the pain and weaknesses.
From 1980 to 1995, Grace travelled Australia extensively by motorcycle (with trailer in tow), as my pillion passenger.  She often said “they were the best years of my life.”  The motorcycle travelling totalled 130,000 km.  Many shorter trips were also made with a car and caravan.  She and I were often accompanied by our sons on long and short trips. Grace was like a flower, and has now wilted.  The petals have fallen, but the seed lives on.  Truly an Amazing Grace.  She is survived by two brothers, Herbert (“Snow”) and Norman, husband Ross, and 2 sons Brian & Wayne.

Brian:  The minister of my church opened a talk with the question: “What’s the difference between a house and a home?”  The answer was: “Home is where love is.”  Any description of our Mum needs to include that word – love.  She had an unbreakable loyalty to her family.  Regardless of the disappointments that we all brought forth, Mum was always optimistic and supportive of us.

Wayne:  Even when I ran off the rails – being the wild one, Mum (unknown to me) was always praying for me.  Because of her faith, the prayers were eventually answered.  I’m grateful for her optimistic attitude and care.  Even in her last days, when I told her I was moving to Tasmania, Mum was supportive, and understood my need to go, saying “Do what you have to do.”

Brian:  On one occasion in the 1980s, I’d been ill briefly, and recovered.  Then I told Mum about it.  She said “You should have told me!”  “Why?”  “I would have been worried about you.”  “That’s why I didn’t tell you” I said.  Mum’s concern was unstoppable!
She was a real fusspot – seeing things that needed to be done, and just doing them.  In about 1967 she learnt to play the piano because the Sunday School didn’t have a pianist.  That required persistence.
It was never too much trouble to feed us and wash our clothes, even into our adult years.  Last Christmas we all decided to have lunch at my house, and Wayne & I did the cooking due to Mum’s weak physical condition.  We had to evict her from the kitchen 3 times!
Over the years, I went on motorcycle tours with Mum & Dad to Tasmania, southern Queensland, far north Queensland, and the Northern Territory.  There were also many local and interstate motorcycle rallies that the 4 of us attended.  Mum always took care of the food and washed the dishes.
Many times I came home from work on a Friday afternoon, and found all of my rose plants neatly pruned.  She took some of the cuttings back home, and turned them into nice rose plants of her own – such was her desire for things to grow.

Speaking of growing, there is also the spiritual aspect.  Mum received her early Christian education from her Mum, and also a bit from her much older sister Flo.  She continued to read the Bible throughout her life, always keen to learn more about God and to improve her personal relationship with Him.  A hymn I really thought she would select for this funeral service goes like this :
        “When we walk with the Lord
        In the light of His Word
        What a glory He sheds on our way !
        While we do His good will,
        He abides with us still,
        And with all who will trust and obey.
        Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
        To be happy in Jesus,
        but to trust and obey.”
Mum’s trust in Jesus Christ wasn’t just blind optimism.  It was based on a reputation Jesus already had with her, and it continued to grow.  On one occasion back in the 1960s, Wayne & I were being silly with the words of that hymn while we washed the dishes.  Mum interrupted us, and said how that hymn had been a great blessing to her in times of difficulty.  When we get to the 2nd hymn a bit later, you’ll see that it expresses some of the same meaning, but with a more mature understanding of trust.
The calmness with which Mum accepted the finality of her diagnosis 3 weeks ago today, is a public testimony to that mature understanding of who’s in charge of life itself.
Mum was always the one to get emotionally upset when a problem arose, while Dad and I calmly set about fixing the problem.  Now the tables have turned upside down, and it’s up to the rest of us to find “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.”

Mum also gave a good push start to Wayne and me.  When I was about 3 years old, there were some flowers in the garden, with numerous red tubular petals radiating out in all directions.  I liked to run my hand up the stem and strip off all of the petals.  Obviously this didn’t please Mum, so she instructed me not to do it again.  Obviously I did it again, but when Mum wasn’t watching.  So I was stuck with a handful of petals, and needed to dispose of the evidence – my first conscience attack.  The ground at the side of the house had been ploughed recently, so it was soft.  Just as I finished burying the petals, I looked across to the house, and there was Mum on the veranda, keeping me under surveillance.  Sprung!
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, Mum got me started in regular reading of the Bible, by making sure I used the Scripture Union study notes every day.  While I didn’t appreciate it at the time, I’ve resumed the practice during my adult years.

Like the rest of us, Mum wasn’t expert at everything, but she tried hard.  She had no idea how mechanical things worked, but she chose a husband who is a good organiser and can fix mechanical things – an ideal partnership.  Even when Mum fumbled, she did so in the right direction – in the same way as a footballer does when struggling to pick up the silly-shaped ball.  In the end, she achieved what she came to do.

We all teamed up well during this period of 2 years and 9 months fighting the cancer, and we’ve matured greatly as a result.  We’re all desperately sad to see Mum go, but we reflect on our good fortune in that she almost died at birth, then was granted an extension of 77 years.  I’d bet that her name stems from the fact that her mother acknowledged this act of God’s grace.  We’re also grateful that we had our opportunities to say goodbye to Mum before she left, and we took the opportunities.  The Bible says
“There is ... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” – and we’re already managing some of both.

Thankyou all for your strong show of support – today, and over the past few weeks.
The staff at Kapunda Hospital deserve a special mention for their care for Mum, as well as for their generous support for Dad in his numerous visits during those weeks of grief.


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