Gary Leon Robert...Gone Too Soon

In Loving Memory of

Gary Leon Robert 1987-2009

I have just returned from attending a wake service for a young man whose life on earth ended on Sunday 2nd August 2009. He had taken part in the Adidas King of The Road marathon in Shah Alam, collapsed after completing the course, was attended to by the medical officers and released when he regained consciousness. After that he seemingly vanished into thin air as his friends and parents frantically searched for him throughout the day and into the next. The police K-9 squad recovered his body the next day, in the tunnel of the Shah Alam stadium.

This is the first time I have attended a funeral service of a young adult and this is the first time I have seen hundreds of people at a funeral. I think there must be at least 500 people present, and cars were parked all the way from his house till about 2 km away.

I remember Gary well. He served in the Christian Fellowship committee of Uniten (commonly known as Techflow) and he had been to our home quite a number of times for makan and committee meetings.

He was one of the very outstanding young men that I have come across in the years that my husband and I have been involved with Techflow. The first thing I remember about Gary is his lovely smile which he flashes so very often. He was always very polite and helpful, often doing dishes in my kitchen together with Adeline, his girlfriend.

I remember thinking to myself what a great job his parents did in raising this fine young man

and how I hope my son would grow up to be like Gary.

As I sat through the service I found out things I never knew about Gary because he was never one to blow his own trumpet. His achievements, both academic and in sports, filled 2 whole A4-size pages, listed down by his sister. His friends gave touching eulogies of how he always brought out the best in them, how he was always considerate and placed others above himself. In short, he was the best kind of friend anyone could ever have and he was the son that every parent would be proud of.

Everyone also felt that he died too young...that there are too many unanswered questions regarding how he died, but overshadowing that, what I see is a life well-lived for God and for others...that he has run the race of this life so well that he finished the race way before the rest of us. Now I can imagine him in Heaven cheering us on, saying "Come on, you can do it!"

It's never a guarantee that the people we love will be with us throughout our lifetime, but our lives are made richer because they were with us...even if it was only for a short moment.

Gary,you will be sadly missed...fondly remembered!