Due to COVID 19 restrictions many of Cecil's Rotary friends were unable to attend his funeral.  Applecross Rotary was represented by Lorri Brazier, Kenn Williams and Ian Fairnie.  Lorri's entry into Cecil's funeral booklet perfectly decribed the impression Cecil  had on his fellow Applecross Rotary;  Rotarians, partners and friends. 
"Even though my friendship with Cecil was for a short time he was one of nature’s gentlemen. He had a priceless sense of humour, and that twinkle in his eye and mischievous grin - he always made me laugh. I will miss him at Rotary. God Bless" Lorri Brazier
 
We thank Elizabeth for sharing information from Cecil's funeral. 
 
The following is Cecil Aaron's Eulogy:

 
Cecil Michael Aaron was born 2 July 1944 in Calcutta, India. The oldest and only son to Cecil Matthew and Beatrice Aaron; he was also a brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and helper.
 
Cecil is the older and only sibling to Beryl. Being the only boy in the family, he was “the apple of the eye" of all the doting relatives. His smile, the mischievous glint in his eyes, and his wicked sense of humour allowed him to get away with many pranks during their childhood days. Beryl had to return home to Canada last night but she wanted to say, “Cec with love from your “Baby siter del" - may God be with you. And to Betty “thank you for your years’ of companionship and love for Cecil.  He has been truly blessed having you, Marina, Paul, Jeremy and Giorgia, Sarah and Sam, Neil, Jonalyn, Robert, Michael and Yvonne in his life. I will always remember your love and caring for my brother.”
 
Their mother Beatrice was the doctor in charge of a mission hospital at Ranaghat, on the outskirts of Calcutta, where Cecil and Beryl spent their formative years when they were taught and encouraged to be of service to others. So service became second nature for Cecil.
 
Cecil went to Sherwood College boarding school in Nainital in the North of India, at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. The close bonds of friendships made at Sherwood played an important role in his life. Despite time and distance, Cecil kept in touch with the ‘boys from Sherwood College’ over the years and the family have been overwhelmed with their outpouring of love and support for Cecil at the news of his passing.  Beryl was in the sister school All Saints, and on “Brother Sunday visit day" Cecil’s visit was conditional on Beryl ensuring that she had goodies for him and that she introduced him to her girlfriends! Such pressure!!
 
As a young man back in Calcutta, Cecil began his studies to become an engineer. He attended St Paul’s Cathedral, where he met Elizabeth at the parish youth group. He was 22.
 
Cecil came to Australia in 1969, six months after Elizabeth had arrived on her own with 6-year-old Neil and 4-year-old Marina. They all lived in a share house in Bayswater with other recent migrant families from India – they eventually moved to a rental house in Lawler Street, North Perth. Cecil worked at the Midland Rail Yards shovelling dirt and other manual labour. While working all day, he attended night school to get his qualifications as a draftsman. At this time, he also worked Saturday nights as a cleaner in the Boans department store in Innaloo. He would work the night shift, come home for an hour of sleep before heading off to church with Elizabeth and the kids, and then spending Sundays with the family going on picnics and visiting friends.
 
Cecil started work at the Water Corporation in 1971 where he remained working until his retirement in 2006. He was well respected by his workmates and he continued to regularly meet up with the Water Corp ‘boys’ for long lunches until last December 2019, just before he became ill.
 
Cecil and Elizabeth (or Bert as he affectionately called her) married in 1980 in Vancouver Canada. They would have celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 5th April. Cecil was a father to Marina and Neil from the moment he arrived in Australia. Nothing was more important to him than spending time with his kids as a family, and teaching them many of life’s important lessons, such as: always get three quotes and ask for the best price; how to wash a car properly, and change and rotate the tyres. He taught them how to use powered tools and undertake home repairs. Most importantly he taught them to always give thanks to God and to help others in need. Cecil was full of love for his kids, but was also the disciplinarian and gave them a measured ‘clip around the ear’ when they were too cheeky.

Cecil was besotted with his grandchildren – Robert, Jeremy, Michael, Sarah, and Yvonne. To them he was known as ‘Gramps’; ‘Gpa’; ‘Pa’; and ‘cookie monster’. Cecil and Elizabeth’s home was full of love and fun and the kids enjoyed sleeping over when they were young. One night, Cecil busted the boys playing computer games at 4am – but all was forgiven a few hours later over a big fry-up breakfast. The kids fondly remember him woodworking in his workshop (the two rocking horses he made were incredible). They remember him as always ready for a game – playing cricket and bocce in the backyard, net sessions at the park, and table tennis and darts in the garage. He cheered them on at their respective T-ball, baseball, basketball and ice hockey games.
 
Cecil was a great planner and researcher. He considered every aspect of all tasks, events, purchases, or holidays. He found the best deals, had detailed travel itineraries prepared on spreadsheets, and was a regular at the local library to read Choice magazine’s top picks for whatever was under present consideration. Cecil loved a good discussion and politics was one of his favourite topics. When Cecil and Elizabeth moved in to live with Paul and Marina in November 2017, there were certainly some robust discussions around the dinner table between Cecil and his favourite son-in-law.
 
Cecil and Elizabeth travelled the four corners of the world together. Cecil would ensure that he brushed up on the local customs of the places they visited and would aim to communicate with the locals in their respective languages. More often than not this resulted in his speaking in a dialect that only he could understand, but his efforts were always appreciated by the locals. Cecil also loved travelling with Elizabeth in their caravan – heading up north for the winters. Along their travels around Australia and overseas, they met so many people – and some have become lifelong friends.
 
All those who met Cecil were instantly drawn to his charming ways. The words ‘true gentleman’ are most commonly used when people refer to him. Other descriptors include funny, cheeky, generous, loyal, hard-working, and a faithful servant to God. Cecil appreciated a good drop of red wine (indeed a drop of shiraz was the last thing past Cecil’s lips) and he loved sharing a drink over a home-cooked meal with family and friends. His chilli chicken was the stuff that legends are made of and he generously passed on his recipe to us, so the legend can live on.
 
Cecil was not shy of spinning a bit of BS. He had a habit of wearing a certain tracksuit that over the years led to him being mistaken for other people. Some have thought that Cecil was a member of the touring Indian cricket team and Cecil’s grandson Jeremy recalls the time one of his high school friends mistook Cecil for a US college basketball player (and Cecil was 60 at the time). He managed to wangle his way into the players’ lounge at a tennis tournament in Qatar where Roger Federer was playing Andy Murray and he even ended up sitting in the seat reserved for Andy Murray’s coach. The coach was happy to call out to his player from the seats behind Cecil.  Cecil never explicitly misrepresented who he was, he just sometimes forgot to correct other people’s incorrect assumptions.
 
Many of you will know Cecil through his service to the community. He was President of Glengarry Probus Club, and recently joined the Mt Pleasant Probus and Applecross Rotary groups. Together with Elizabeth, he volunteered with Melville Cares. He loved his job as a driver taking people to their various appointments, and he made time for social visits to new friends at Regents Garden aged care home. He was actively involved in the YouthCare chaplaincy program at Woodvale High and more recently at Applecross High. Cecil was always on some committee or another to organise a fundraising or social event and was the first to arrive to set up and the last to leave after cleaning up. Cecil gave his time generously to support Curtin University occupational therapy students by being available for them to practice their professional communication skills, especially the international students for whom English was a second language.

Cecil was deeply connected to the mission of the Church. His Christian faith and dedication to the life of the Anglican community characterised him. His service and his wisdom were notable parts of his life with various Church communities. At St Anselm’s Kingsley (for instance) Cecil and Elizabeth were foundation members. Cecil exercised wise leadership throughout his time at St Anselm’s – especially during the building of the parish centre. It was Cecil (and his partner in crime John Pickering) who redirected some early plans that would have saddled the parish with an inadequate building design into the remarkable structure the parish enjoys today. Characteristically, it was also Cecil who stood beside John as he journeyed through the Catechumenate – Cecil offering his mature Christian insight and Christian love to someone newer in faith. It will surprise no one here today to know that in much of his work for the Church – building committee and catechumenate meetings -  there also involved the consumption of a significant amount of red wine. Cecil was a remarkable Christian who was involved in every aspect of the life of the Church- in our governance, worship, mission and community life. Fervently committed to Christ’s mission in the world and to that of the Church.
 
Elizabeth and her family want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to come here today to thank God for Cecil and to celebrate his life. All of you know Cecil in your own way and we hope that you have had the opportunity to bring along your own written reflection or memory of Cecil to place in the basket today. If not, there is some paper and pens in the hall next door when we go to share in a morning tea and photo tribute of Cecil. The family invites you to write down your own memory of him and leave it in the basket. They will be putting together a digital reflection book to send to everyone, especially those unable to be here today.
 
The world is currently in a state of uncertainty and rapid change. One thing, however, is certain and unchanging. No matter how long or in what capacity you knew Cecil, the world is a better place because he was in it.