We celebrate today the life of Julie Potter - our mum. We thank everyone here, those who've come from near and far to support us and pay tribute to Julie
Julie lived a rich and wonderful life of love and joy, sacrifice, prayer and devotion to us. She enjoyed a long and happy marriage to Owen and had a large and loving family. Above all hers was a life anchored in faith in God, family life, and practical commmunity action. Knowing this consoles us in our grief. Julie's life of spirital and loving kindness inspires us to strive to be better people ourselves.
Julie was born in Brisbane on the 8th of August 1928 to Ned and Elizabeth Hanlon. She had two elder sisters - Hannah and Mary - and two younger brothers - Pat and Teddy. Only Pat survives. Julie was a lively child and a bright student. She won prizes for oratory at All Hallows Convent and was often called on to give recitations at school functions.
She saw the life of a member of Queensland's Parliament from an early age. Constitutents of Ned's seat of Ithaca queued up on the verandah of the family home each evening with their problems. Julie's mother Elizabeth insisted that Ned dine with his family. Often more chairs had to be brought out to accommodate the constituents and he might not be able to attend to them until after ten pm.
Julie grew into a very pretty young woman. She enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Science in Medical Science at the University of Queensland, a new course which allowed her to explore her interest in microbiology. Julie was the first member of her family to attend university. On graduation Mum worked in Queensland's Department of Public Health. She was particularly sensitive to the sufferers of leprosy who so desperately wanted to be declared free of the disease.
Through the Newman Society and elsewhere she developed a large circle of friends, young men and women who would occasionally drive down to the family beach house at Scarborough on Sundays. Among them was a young applied science student and rubgby enthusiast, Owen Potter. One of their earliest meetings came after Owen had delivered a talk to the Newman Society. Young Julie bailed Owen up and said: "That was a boring address!" Despite these inauspicious beginnings they became engaged and remained devotedly married for more than 57 years.
Julie experienced family tragedy at a young age. The Hanlons lost young Teddy as a toddler to diptheria while holidaying on Buderim Mountain. When Julie was still a teenager her mother Elizabeth collapsed at a state dinner and later died at the Mater Hospital.
Julie assumed omse of her mother's public duties, accompanying Ned - by then Premier - to official functions. After the reception for one Premiers' conference, Alan Reid, Canberra correspondent for the Courier Mail, wrote that Julie 'in something blue and white and simple' had stood out among the ladies. But Mum would certainly never have dressed to outshine others.
She saw history unfold dramatically: The 1951 Jubilee of Federation Ball came to a sudden end when Robert Menzies interrupted the celebrations to tell the guests that the Leader of the Opposition - Ben Chifley - had died of a heart attack.
Ned fell ill shortly afterwards. Julie believed he never recovered from the chill he caught standing in the Guard of Honour on a cold Canberra morning as Chifley's body was put on a plane to be flown home to Bathurst. Julie nursed him through his final illness, until his death in January 1952.
By this time Owen had been studying in London for two years. They had become engaged in 1949 and continued their courtship by correspondence. After Ned's death Julie was able to join him in England. Her elder sisters Hannah and Mary supervised the making of the wedding dress and lots more. Julie sailed with her lifelong friend Beryl Neill. They took up residence in the London flat of Margaret Collins, an old friend of Julie's from All Hallows, and Julie and Owen were married and Saint Caecilia and Anselm's Church in November 1952.
They moved from London to Wigan and then Manchester with Dad's study and work and brought their four eldest children - Mary, Elizabeth, Judith and Bennet - into the world. By this time Owen had chosen Chemical Engineering over the History and Philosophy of Science for a career, or it had chosen him, and an opening at Melbourne University brought them back to Australia in 1961.
They set up house in Riversdale Road, East Camberwell, and were introduced to the Teams of Our Lady by two other great friends, Max and Stephanie Charlesworth. They remained members and made many more friends through the Teams. Julie attended her last meeting only a month of so agao. They also brought four more children into the world - Janet, Caecilia, Clare and Thomas.
Julie never allowed the prodigious demands of managing a growing household to excuse her from providing the things that make family life special and memorable. Our cherished memories of these years are of thoroughly prepared birthday parties, picnics, fun-filled holidays on the peninsula and at Indented Heads at which our friends were always welcome. Evenings around the card table, or the Monopoly or Squatter board were lit up by Julie's laughter and quick wit.
Julie was a wonderful cook. She spared no effort to prepare meals that not only fed up to ten hungry mouths - sometimes more, no one was ever turned away - but were also delicious and beautifully presented, whether at home, in a holiday house or camping. She marshalled seven children onto a plane to England in 1968 for Owen's sabbatical year in Cambridge, set up house, enrolled us in schools, all while Owen himself was on the North American conference tour. She catered brilliantly for two extended camping trips around the continent which left us with some wonderful memories, such as the time Julie drove us into an Army camp in Italy under Owen's expert navigation.
Of course Julie worked very hard to provide us with such a wonderful life. Her care and devotion to all of us was unflagging, especially when Elizabeth had polio as a young child and with Clare, who from birth suffered from diabetes requiring meticulous attention and care with the less advanced instruments of the day. Clare's sudden death in 2002 was a tragic blow to all of us.
We all enjoyed Mum's unstinting care when sick. We cherish memories of her sitting up with us, saying the Rosary over us and applying her knowledge of medical science to the treament of our ailments.
Neither did Julie allow the demands of managing her household to keep her from making her contribution in the wider community. Her life was faith-filled in the true sense of a life of prayer balanced with practical action.
She threw herself with Owen and others into the successful battle for state aid for Catholic schools in the 1960s. Serving as Secretary for the Victorian Parents' Council. In the early 1960s Catholic Parish Schools sustained themselves entirely from fees and Sunday collections. Classes of 50 or more pupils were common. Their victory now benefits non-government schools of all faiths. Julie also threw herself into Parish Fetes, Dominicare, Meals on Wheels, teaching Catechetics and other voluntary work. She was an active member of the Women's Action Alliance and for more than 30 years a member of her local book group. Her love of literature was rich and deep. She could amaze us with her recall and stimulate us with her insights. She brought the same forensic approach to politics and social affairs. She was always making newsclippings of items she thought might interest us. Julie was also a prolific teller of anecdotes both political and domestic - indeed she often mixed the two. She was a great teacher who honed our thinking and debating skills, and those of our friends, around the dinner table and in the kitchen.
Julie had a tremendous fighting spirit. She'd had to cope with more than her share of family tragedy. This sometimes made her dismissive of everyday setbacks: when we complained about such things, she would scoff "If that's the worst that happens to you, you'll have lived a good life!"
We knew that Julie loved us totally and devotedly, as she loved Owen, and as she loved her 20 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was quick to stick up for us if she felt we'd been wronged. When a member of the Board of Studies accused Victoria's maths teachers of fumbling the implementation of the VCE Julie phoned the Board on behalf of Judith - a maths teacher - to point out the error of their ways. She understood the issues and wasn't to be lightly dismissed.
The weekend before Julie died, the doctors removed a tube from her throat and said she could have a 'sip of tea'. When we told her, she raised an index finger, twirled it shakily in the air, and said in a raspy voice with a hint of a smile "Jolly Dee" - Lancastrian slang for 'jolly decent'. We saw this as a sign of Julie's fighting spirit and sense of humour and we loved her for it. But we also loved her for her sharp intellect, for all the happy memories she have us and for her tireless devotion to our welfare which drew on her exceptional talents and skills and on her deep reservoir of love.
We thank the people who cared for her through these difficult months, the Sisters and staff at Nazareth House and the doctors and nurses at the Epworth Hospital.
Farewell Mum. We treasure your memory and will preserve it.