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ANDREW McFARLANE FUNERAL

Today was Andrew McFarlane's funeral at Cleveland Baptist Church in Bayside, Brisbane. I knew Andrew from when he was nine years old as I worked for Performance Yamaha, right next door to his father Ron McFarlane's Bayside Kawasaki dealership in Capalaba. Ron is without a doubt one of the most dedicated MX fathers I have ever encountered. No track was ever too far away and absolutely nothing was too hard to do. Andrew was a great kid and grew up into an even greater man, and did so with an exceptional father as a role model.

Hundreds of mourners from all over Australia and from overseas attended the funeral today. It really was the whose-who of MX and a very sombre occasion as you would expect, led by Pastor Richard Kingham.

Ron McFarlane shared a moving tribute for his son, assisted by his other son, Cameron.

Barry Marshall (race photographer and Andrew's father-in-law) shared some stories about Andrew and finished with a poem he wrote.

Promoter Kevin Williams also gave a tribute to Andrew in the professional way we would expect from Kevin.

International Aussie racers Chad Reed and Michael Byrne flew home from the USA and shared a tribute and some stories about Andrew. Both these elite professionals were obviously shattered by the loss of their close friend.

Dave Ellis put together a beautiful slide-show featuring some of the great moments in Andrew's and the McFarlanes' life and journey.

Thomas Creevey (chiropractor to the stars) finished the service with some more stories of working and strategising with Andrew, finishing with a minute's silence.

One of the most common threads each person shared was the significance in Andrew's life of his wife Natalie and his daugher Tayla and just how much they loved each other. It really did sound like a marriage made in heaven.

After the service many people were catching up with others they had not seen for some time, but overall, there was a sense of incompleteness. One of the all time greats has been taken from us --and he is sorely missed.
R.I.P. Andrew 'Sharky' McFarlane.

-- Ron Grant, via www.trailzone.com.au