Eulogy

Eulogy of Parson Johnson
Hello everyone, I thank you all again for coming along to pay tribute to Frank Reprieve Wilcox or more well known as Mr Van Gogh, a member in our community who was not rightly recognised and possibly seen by some as an oddity. I am Rodney Johnson and would like to use this time to reflect on our Mr Van Gogh in order to value each member of our community in a greater way.
Mr Van Gogh’s real name was Frank Reprieve Wilcox. After thinking back over his life, I realised how perfect his name matched his life. ‘Frank’ suggesting honesty which was distinctly noticeable, and ‘Wilcox’ would imply to ‘will’ as in determination which was strongly shown in the way nobody was let inside his house. Even though Mr Van Gogh was unconcerned about his appearance, he wasn’t odd looking. He dressed old-fashioned yet practical; his gabardine coat with its concealed buttons, and then the braces over grey work shirts. He did take care of himself, always clean and clean-shaven. However, his hair, long and toned in with the grey shirts, was combed over his head with his fingers gave the appearance of a care-worn lion, also implying a certain nobility about him.
Although we are unsure of Mr Wilcox’s history, I have tried to remember the snippets of memories reluctantly shared by Mr Van Gogh. I remember one of the times he came to our house asking if he could use the telephone after apologised extensively for disturbing us. He came many times to check up on his pension or to order some glass of fascinating colours from all over the world. On one occasion, I remember, after a rather heated phone call, he came back into the room from the passage extremely distressed. A certain beige yellow glass from Austria was unavailable anymore. He sat down at the table with my family and with his elbows on the table he held his head in his hands. This was the first time I really felt sorry for him. He showed us through his sorrow that he lived for his extremely passionate