I would like to preface this with three points.
Tricia always had both cultures in her heart. Thus, we decided to make the service Austrian and Australian.
The day before the funeral, as I left the crypt which had so many beautiful dedications and flowers, I shook my head and sighed. Trishy, Trishy, Trishy. Not two seconds later, she dumped snow from the church roof two feet behind me.
The following is not grammatically correct, it was written for the delivery.
"Ich bitte um verzeihung.
Es ist schweirig genug diese werte in Englisch zu artikulieren. Deshalb, mochte ich diese lebenslauf in English wieder geben.
Vielen dank fur das verstandnis.
Oh Trishy, Trishy, Trishy.
Words escape me, which is somewhat rare. Where does one start when talking about something they never expected to end? How does one articulate this beautiful force of nature that we are saying farewell to today?
We could talk about her youth in Melbourne with her parents (Kevin and Francis) and her siblings Jenny, Brian and Dan. But I was not there, and after valuable reminiscing with family throughout the last week, some information has come to light which has led me to believe that our Tricia was even more mischievous than perviously thought.
We could talk about when she met our father, Bernti, at a BBQ in Falls creek. But again, I was not there. It is fair to say that we all know how that went, considering that my big sister Tina and I are here now.
We could also talk about the creation of Bernti's lodge in Thredbo Village, Australia. The beutiful project of our mother (an accountant who just happened to be a beauty queen on the side) and our father, a charismatic Tirolean ski instructor. Bernti's was an extraordinary achievement of Thredbo's hey day, and a hybridisation of the Austrian and Australian cultures, which we are also trying to do here today.
What we SHOULD talk about is her tireless devotion to our father. When he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1997, she looked after him with love and tenderness 24 hours a day until his death in 2008. During this time she was also fighting against those who foolishly attempted to destroy everything she had built.
She was a warrior, who throughout this dark time sustained herself with dreams of the Austrian Alps.
9 years ago her dreams came back to fruition, and the beautiful circle was complete, She returned to Tirol with my sister and once again became that vibrant and avid skier with a guest house. This time around, there was even more happiness, as my sister Tina met the love of her life, Andreas. Together they created two perfect, cheeky grandchildren, Raphael and Allegra. They brought her so much daily joy.
However, this is not about what she did, but how she did it.
Everything was done with glamorous gusto.
She was formidable, fantastic, fearless and fiercely loyal.
She took no prisoners.
She called Tina and I her "experiments". She wanted to raise strong women. And that she has.
As devastating and unexpected as this is, she has given us the strength to continue what she started.
To say we will miss her is quite the understatement, but the bitter sweet is that she got to go as the ageless beauty she was, and still is.
Whenever we have fear or doubts, we can just ask ourselves, "What would Tricia do?"
"