MY APPRECIATION “He’s My Brother” – By Alix Vaz
My brother Ronald, loved music like our mum & all the family and we had a very happy childhood in Sri Lanka.
In his youth, when The Shadows & Cliff Richards were in their heyday, he wore drain pipe trousers & Hank Marvin’s dark wrap-around sunglasses, which to me resembled a racehorse with blinkers – focussing only on what was in front!
He liked the sound of the monotonous bass guitar & practised endlessly driving us crazy. He & his, friend Randy Peries had music in their veins.
I was absolutely thrilled when on my 21st birthday, he organised a group named the Commodores to play – complete with disco lighting. It was the craze at the time. The 1st disco lights were invented in 1968 when someone decided to control lighting using electronics (Transistors – no silicon chips). The idea was to flash lamps to different frequencies. It was a magical night to remember.
As kids we rode bikes & later Ron had a Vespa scooter in Sri Lanka. His latest mode of transport the past few months, was his motorised mobility scooter, & he threw caution to the wind, when it came to speed!
He was named after our dad & he in turn, named his eldest son the same. He continued the Pierès family tradition by naming his beloved 3 children Renny & René as their middle names.
We learned at an early age that Family:
Like branches on a Tree
We all grow in different directions
But our roots remain as one
Alix Vaz
Ronald Renny Pierès – A Man For All Seasons – Lawrence Machado’s appreciation
APPRECIATION
Ronald Renny Pierès – A Man For All Seasons
March 5, 1946 – April 11, 2024
By Lawrence Machado
When you spoke to Ron Pierès, the conversation would always start and end with a wisecrack. Nothing was off limits for our Ron. A man who easily wore many hats at work and at home, the lanky Ron was always a joy to be with. Despite failing health in recent months, he never stopped his networking and was the first with the news, telling me about someone’s passing away or some great new deal he had spotted online.
Ron, who passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Thursday morning (April 11), always made light of his ailments and joked about the serious things in life. He lived a full life and was proud of his hard-working wife, Joy, and children from his previous marriage, Renny, Sean and Cheryl – speaking highly of their achievements.
He was also mightily proud of his Dad, Ronald Renny Pierés Snr – a champion athlete at school who won an Asian Games gold medal – and his Mum, Celia Doreen de Silva, the long-serving Principal of Alethea International School in Sri Lanka.
His family lived in Wellawatte, and Ron Jr studied at St Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya, just like his Dad. He was a handyman and quick to learn things. He could take apart a computer and fix it. That was one of the many extra skills he learned himself.
Ron migrated to Australia in 1974 and worked in a variety of jobs throughout his busy career. At St Peter’s College, his classmate was Randy Peries, who went on to become a famous musician, with the two pals reuniting in Sydney many years later. Ron, who shared many anecdotes about Randy, was devastated when the gifted musician passed away four years ago.
Ron was a caring and generous soul who was grateful for even the smallest things you did for him. His old school habits never left him and even to the end, he sent emails and messages to friends keeping them informed of things happening around Australia or back in Sri Lanka. He was a widely-read man, watched loads of films, and listened to hours of music. He enjoyed being among the musicians and played in a few bands too.
He wrote a few articles to eLanka, recounting his youth in Sri Lanka and Australia, like this one: https://www.elanka.com.au/a-migrants-story-by-ron-pieris/
During the height of #COVID19 when I was out of work, Ron got in touch with his friend Moses who runs the Sohas Charity organisation to deliver food stuff to us a couple of times. When I thanked him and said there are people worse off than us, Ron said: “Don’t worry, it is okay. Moses is a good friend. We all need help at one time or the other, brother.”
Ron was a volunteer for various organisations, including the Parramatta Council. He was an active member of the St Peter’s College OBU Sydney for many years – serving as secretary at one time, and attended AGMS and dances without fail. He loved a good thosai feed at Pendle Hill, catching up regularly with his friends, the late Randy Peiris and Darrel De Silva, another fantastic musician and former Peterite.
May your gentle soul rest safely in the Arms of Your Saviour Jesus Christ. You are reunited with your beloved parents in Heaven, where you will be playing your silly pranks and jokes on them and your many friends who are gathered there.
