Hi to all,

I, Ben, was today asked by a member here to contribute an Obituary for a man who helped many people
- Barry T Coles.

I will attempt to do my best.

Barry recently lost his battle with lung cancer, but I am sure he would rather be remembered by what he did for people while he was alive. Barry helped in a lot of places that I have found online, not just us CHers.

When it was all many could do to stop themselves from sticking their head through a wall, Barry was there with a joke; as quick as.

He pulled put some cracker one liners, spoken like only a true CHer can.

I can't speak for anyone else, but Barry's sense of humour saved my life by pulling me out of a big hole on one occasion in particular; out of sheer desperation and curiosity, we discovered we had both measured the voltage across our teeth and fillings with voltmeters, just looking to find answers to CH.
Mine was DC current, his was AC.
Much head scratching ensued about the batteries in our heads and we shared a few insider's engineering jokes, some at the expense of his Dentist's Porsche, which Barry said he had significantly helped to pay for.

Barry made me laugh, no matter how bad the pain was.
That is life saving kind of humour, that you don't often find in people, let alone a CHer.

Barry tirelessly educated us on O2, with his mantra - "I'm an O2 pusher" on the Aussie CH site.
Never an unkind word from Barry was spoken.

This morning, the O2 treatment page was renamed the BTC O2 treatment page with a footnote, in honour of Barry's contributions to all of us.

Barry will be sadly missed by all at the Aussie CH site.

We lost one of the best and funniest moderators the site was privileged enough to ever have had.

His last post, to a member said "Thanks Kim, needed a laugh"
I could do with one of Barry's laughs right now, I know that much.

An official obituary notice can be found at the newspaper, The West Australian.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Rest in Peace, Barry.

I can't thank you enough for the write up Brain. Barry's constant upbeat attitude, his warped sense of humor, his compassion and drive for his fellow CH'ers, all will be sorely missed around here. Click on the link to see a photo of Barry...and a taste of his humor. The world is a teeny bit sadder for me today. RIP Barry, the beast has nothing on you now.

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Joe

Edited to add a link to the obituary and guest book

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Barry was a breath of fresh air here on ch.com. I remember when he shared his cancer with us last year and his upbeat way of handling it. My condolences to his family as they go through this terrible time of loss. :(

Ben, thank you so much for your kind words.  They help to soothe a very sad heart.

Joe, thank you for the links.


Rest in peace Barry. xo  :'(

My sympathies to Barry's family.   Indeed the world is a sadder place today...

Jeannie

I  didn't know or interact with Barry, but my condolences go to his family and friends.
Rest in Peace Barry

Barry was a great person and will truly be missed here. My deepest condolences to his family.  :'(

He will be sorely missed  :'(.  His wit and his wisdom combined to make him on very special person around here.  We are all the better for having known him.

Condolences to his family.

Carol

May God bless you, Barry.  We had the honor of your presence with us for a long time and for that we are thankful.  Rest in peace kind Sir....you will be sorely missed.

Respectfully,
Jackie

I am very saddened to hear the passing of Barry, he helped me and so many others with dealing with CH's, and a joke once in awhile to help put a smile on a suffer's face.
You will be dearly missed my friend, R.I.P.  :'(

So very sad to hear this news.  What a wonderful person.  He will be greatly missed!  My condolences to his family and loved ones.

RIP Barry. You will be missed by all.

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

with much sadness,Lenny

  I'm truly saddened to hear this.  The sun has gone behind a cloud around here. 

RIP Barrry - thanks for the help with making me laugh, learning about somewhere I'd love to visit where you enjoyed the fishing and for enriching us with posts about CH.

Wow. That SUCKS.  He will be greatly missed!

I just found this out this morning. Very sad to hear of Barry's passing. It did remind me though, that I need to make it a point to come to the board at least once a day from now on.

Rest In Peace, Barry.  :'(

The world is very much a sadder place.

Godspeed on your newest journey Barry.  You had a wonderful 'dash'. :'( :'( :'(

The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

I posted in the guestbook through FB.  I have lost a friend.  Barry will be sorely missed!

Jerry

I'll miss Barry very much. 

All the very best to his family.

George

RIP Barry. You will be missed by all.  :'( :'( :'( :'(

My condolences to his family and loved ones. 
Barry will be missed by all who knew him.

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Years with this board is most sensitive in loss.  A fantastic guy and sad loss.  My best to family and friends.

I popped in today to say hi and visit and I find out Barry died... I am so sorry to hear about the loss of such a gentle human being...

God Bless You All

ree

Like Ree, I didn't know.

A sad thing indeed.

Clusterheads seem to do a good job expressing grief
R. I. P.

Charlie

Hi all at CH

I'm Barry's daughter, Karen. Our family would like to thank you all so very much for your kind words on my darling Dads passing.
We read the site some time ago but I have struggled with getting onto the site & figuring out passwords etc, tonight I managed to get into Dads laptop. (he would love the chaos I could create..)

You all gave Dad so much strength, hope, love & faith with your support. He battled this as you all do with your loved ones watching but unable to help. We cannot thank you enough for being there with Dad & offering your support. We are honoured at the naming of the BTC O2 treatment page - Dad would get a real kick out of it. He really was an O2 pusher.

As you know Dad loved a joke, he always had a line to put a smile on your face & warmth in your heart. He "took the piss" out of himself & others as often as he could. He did have a warped sense of humour which he passed onto us two kids.  He called a spade a spade & all knew where they stood with him. He was someone anyone could turn to for help emotional or hands on, he was there.

Nothing about Dad surprised me. He is our hero & we adore him.
He was self depreciating, honest, full of life & love & a student of life.
He kept his humour until the last & his dignity as well. He wouldn't mind me telling you all that after we had been told he was unresponsive in the early hours of the 20th Feb & they expected him to pass, he woke up 5 hours later & had a call of nature, he walked to the toilet with the help of a nurse, had his consitutional, wiped his own backside - he held his pride to the very end. That is the man that he is.


Dad has been called one if life's true gentleman, a true friend, a wonderful man. He was our everything. He was our anchor & moral compass. Mum's life partner. He was our standard to live up to.

I did expect a large turnout at his funeral (as Dad & I would call it - celebration of life) around 150 people showed up to say goodbye, that shows how much he was thought of. We had a party afterwards, the way he would want it.

Dad won't have let on too much that his childhood was not one any child should have to endure to become a loving, honest, open & sharing husband, father & friend. So many people blame others or their past for their bad behaviour, Dad proved that your choices are your own to be the person you are - it is not anyone else's doing.

Put all you have into your day, live it to the best you can & smile as often as you can. Be true to yourself. No matter how bad we think we have it, someone else has it worse.

I would really like to thank Aussie Brian for his support, we had a chat on the phone as I was writing this post tonight. It's taken a long time to do this for a number of reasons, emotional being one of them. This was always going to be tough, but Dad would want to pass on his thanks. He often told me about you all, he was very proud to be a part of something so important & I'm proud of his contribution. It's the kind of bloke that he was.

Dads dream is about to be realised, he & mum bought a 5 acre block in a coastal community north of Perth 16 years ago with a dream to build thier home on it. Dad got to see pictures of the roof on before he passed, it one of only two times I have seen him shed a tear. The house will be complete in a week or so & Mum will move down from the north to realise their dream. We will build the property up just how he wanted it - his still included. Dad would be so very proud.

He's out there smiling down on all of us. Sending a politically incorrect joke our way!

With heartfelt thanks from the Coles family, Nina, Karen & Jason. We thank you so very much.

Ben and Karen...such sad news for you to share with us here, but thank you for doing so.  Karen, deepest condolences to you and your family.  Barry's interactions  on this forum meant a lot to many of us.

Karen,

Thank you so much for coming here to write of your dad.  I wish I could have met him in person as he seemed like such a good man.  He was a great example of how to live with such adversity, not just with clusters, but with cancer as well.   

My condolences to you all.

Melissa

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to write that. As I said the day he passed, the world's a little sadder place without Barry. A true class act, you sound like a daughter he or ANYONE  would be damned proud of.

Joe

Karen,

That was such a beautiful tribute to your father. my deepest condolences to your whole family.

Your father was us so much and he will be missed in great deal in our ch community as well.

I wish your family the best,
Sanna

Thanks Karen for writing that memorial on your dad. We are all very aware of his personality and the jokester that he was. He met the cancer head on and he left a mark here on ch.com.

He was a good man and sounds like he was a great father.

Thank you, Karen, for letting us hear more about your beloved Dad.  He was loved and well respected in this community as well.  We'll always remember him.
Love to you and your family.

Karen - thanks for sharing your stories about your Dad.  He was truly one of a kind.  Sending you hugs and prayers.

Carol

Karen, thank you so very much for taking the time to write such a lovely tribute to your father. Your Dad was a valued and much-loved member here, and he will be very much missed.

Barry did a lot of good here. He will be fondly remembered.

All my very best to you, your mother, and all your family.

George

Thank you Karen, that was quite a tribute you wrote.

Barry helped a lot of people here, making quite an impact on people's lives for the better.

Thank you for that moving tribute, Karen. Your dad was well loved here and will be missed.
Hugs and continued prayers, nani

Dear Karen and family...what a remarkably delightful and poignant tribute to the class that was and IS Barry...THANK YOU for sharing this with his "other" family...no less loved here than in yours...don't mind admitting a tear or two....

and folks...just yesterday...I got a PM response from Barry T Coles! Crickey....I was verklempt...was thinkin' reports of a demise were exaggerated...alas, not to be...but it sure was a nervous "enter" I made!!! Turned out to be a classy reply from Karen...but, somewhere, I'm sure, Barry is smilin'..."gotcha mate"!

Best

Jon

Karen, thank you for writing about my friend.  To visit Australia and meet your dad was high on my dream list.  I'm sorry I will not be able to fulfill that dream, but I thank you for filling in so much about him.  His irreverent sense of humor helped me more than one time when struggling, as did his common sense support and encouragement through these pages.  he indeed will be missed by your family, and by this one, and I'm the better for having known him through this phosphor screen.  Your family has been regularly in my prayers since I first learned of his passing.  God's peace and rest to you.

Jerry

I got a PM response from Barry T Coles! Crickey....I was verklempt...was thinkin' reports of a demise were exaggerated...alas, not to be...but it sure was a nervous "enter" I made!!! Turned out to be a classy reply from Karen...but, somewhere, I'm sure, Barry is smilin'..."gotcha mate"!

Oh no mistake, Barry was busting a gut over that one Jon!!! I do miss his entries in the jokes section.  :'( :'(

Joe

Old surveyors never die, they just wander off looking for the lathe stretcher and never come back.

Look up the word *gentleman* and there you will find Barry's name.

I only just saw this, haven't been around much because I have been CH free for a few years now  :'(

Barry provided me support during the hardest years of my life. I can't put into words how much that meant to me, both at the time and still today.

My deepest condolences to Karen and the rest of Barry's family. Over the years he provided fantastic support both with getting on the right track in regards to doctors, but also with his great sense of humour through the good and the bad.

Thanks for the teeth anecdote Ben, having broken 6 teeth due to CH I am surprised I never talked to him about it at one time or another. You can add me to the list of clusterheads keeping the dentists comfy.

RIP mate, you were one of the best blokes I never met.


James

My condolences.

OMG I just can't believe it  :'(

Absolutely devastated by this news. 

Barry was such a wonderful man.  I am in shock! 

RIP Barry, thank you for everything!