By Taylah Eastwell
Terry Wright was a builder by trade and a champion sportsman by leisure.
Above all – Terry was a gentleman, old-fashioned in his ways and as polite as they come.
Born in Ferntree Gully on 29 June 1947, Terry lived his life in the Hills, making a name for himself both in business and on sporting fields across the mountain.
A father of seven, step-father of three and grandfather of ten, Terry loved nothing more than his family, gathering everyone around the TV to yell for Essendon being one of his favourite ways to spend a Saturday night.
On Saturday 26 June, as he lay gravely in hospital, Terry did just that. But this time, it would be the last. With his nearest and dearest crowded around him all watching on as the Bombers battled it out against the Demons, Terry passed away peacefully around 10pm, leaving a gaping hole in the hearts of his family and the wider Hills community.
Just two days out from his 74th birthday, Terry lost his battle with terminal pleural mesothelioma – a deadly asbestos cancer that he was diagnosed with only three months prior.
Holding back tears, Terry’s wife Christina said it is “important for people to understand how awful working with even just a little bit asbestos can be”, with Terry also wanting to get the message out to younger builders and renovators prior to his passing.
“He was a vibrant, fit and healthy man, he was out on jet ski’s at Easter just a few months ago. We’ve all worked with asbestos and only now do I stop and think, wow it really is just the luck of the draw. The dangers are so incredible it scares the heck out of me,” Christina said.
After being short of breath and “a bit fatigued”, Terry went to the doctors earlier this year who originally blamed the fact he was 73 and still working for his tiredness. Not sold, Terry and Christina went to a second doctor, who suggested a CT scan and chest X-Ray, which devastatingly revealed some tumours.
“We then found out through a biopsy. The whole thing took about eight weeks to diagnose,” Christina said.
“He was such a fit man, he wasn’t used to being tired,” she said.
Christina described the heartbreaking diagnosis as a “complete shock”.
“I think he thought that even though they had told him it was terminal, inoperable and there was no cure, he thought because he was a strong person and was having all the right foods and diet that maybe he would have a chance of living for a few years, but we were all just shocked,” she said.
“After the diagnosis it took a nose dive, he got pneumonia in mid-April and it was like one minute you’re healthy and the next you haven’t got long left. There was no time to process it really. He was wheelchair bound within four weeks, I gave up work to care for him and we thought we would just pot around the house together and do a few things but by the end he was really just worrying about getting to the end of the day,” she said.
For a fit man, still working well into his 70’s, life as Terry knew it was over as the illness took hold.
“He was a hard worker, a champion cricket player, a champion footballer, he was actually picked up in his younger days to play for Hawthorn in the U19’s. He holds records at clubs for cricket, everyone at Belgrave and St Johns Tecoma clubs knows Terry, he was just a very good sportsman and a fit and vibrant man. Everyone has been sending messages saying he was a true gentleman,” Christina said.
Terry was among the founding members of Tecoma Cricket Club and a distinguished first XI player at the club for many years after starting as a youngster in the first XI.
The ultimate all-rounder, some of Terry’s on-field achievements during his fifty years as a cricketer include six first XI hundreds, four seven wicket hauls with a best of 8/55 against Menzies Creek in the 1981/82 season and a career best 160 against Upwey in the 1983/84 season. Continuing on as captain and mentoring young players, Terry never lost his skill with the bat and ball, still a class above the rest in his last playing years in veteran’s cricket.
Having worked with his father since age 14, Terry took over from his dad at just age 23, his dad then working for Terry later in his career.
During the 60’s and 70’s, asbestos was a popular building product that Terry used “profusely” back in a time when the dangers weren’t known.
His wife Christina warned others who may be exposed to asbestos to “not be blasé about it”.
“There is no safe amount of asbestos if you’re one of the unlucky ones. It just needs one spore, you swallow or breathe it in and it just sits there for 20-30 years and gets coated and you end up with a tumour. It just takes one little piece, one fibre, that’s what we’ve learnt.
“Terry was very lucky to have the life he had but it should have been longer.
“Don’t take it for granted. If you’re not sure, call people to get rid of it. It’s just not worth it,” Christina said.
A funeral service celebrating Terry’s life will be held at Upwey RSL on Friday 2 July at 11.30am.
