Wes Eggleston with councillor Ros Blades last year calling on residents to donate blankets to help those less fortunate in the cooler months.18466
By Melissa Meehan
SPRINGVALE’S Wes Eggleston will be long remembered as a community man by those whose lives he touched.
Mr Eggleston passed away on Saturday morning, aged 80, after years of poor health.
His cousin, Jan Woodward, said he never stopped working for the community of Springvale as secretary of the Springvale Benevolent Society. “He helped those who needed extra support to survive,” she said. “Both personally and through the Springvale Benevolent Society.”
She described Mr Eggleston as a “very private person”.
“He treated everyone equally no matter what,” Ms Woodward said. “And he thought of others before himself, always.”
At Monday night’s council meeting, it was obvious the loss of Mr Eggleston had affected councillors.
Fighting back tears, councillors Yvonne Herring, Ros Blades and Youhorn Chea spoke of the respect they had for him.
“He will be sadly missed by everyone,” Cr Herring said.
Cr Chea, who first met Mr Eggleston as a refugee over 20 years ago said that Mr Eggleston’s heart was always with the community.
“He was one of the best,” Cr Chea said. “It is very sad for all of us.”
Cr Ros Blades, a member of the Springvale Benevolent Society, said she found it difficult to express the huge sense of loss.
“The huge loss is to the people who didn’t know him,” she said. “To many he was just the kind voice on the other end of the phone, but to all that knew him he was a very special man.”
A funeral service will be held today (Thursday) at 10.30am at Boyd Chapel at the Springvale Botanical Gardens.
