A Quarry of Eulogies

Why a “quarry”? As far as I can find, there is no collective noun for a group of eulogies such as this, so I decided that “quarry” reflected the often rich resource available in eulogies written about our family members, deceased or not.

The Hungerford family in Australia has had many notable members and their achievements etc are often well documented in various publications. However, collecting information about our parents and grandparents is also important for future generations, apart from a personal satisfaction of gaining a better understanding of our recent heritage.

I have had an interest in family history which came alive when I discovered the Hungerford & Associated Families Society and became a member, realising what a vast amount of “Hungerford” information HAFS has collected and has available for members to use and find out more about our heritage. However, perhaps a greater challenge is for our younger members to collect and preserve information now about their parents and grandparents.

With my interest in my family history, I realised that I already had a lot of family history and memoirs contained in various eulogies for family and close relations and that these deserved to be published, if only as one mechanism to preserve them and perhaps spark interest in others to undertake similar exercises. So, by way of encouragement, I have included several eulogies about my immediate family members, now deceased.

Re-reading these eulogies (albeit with a touch of sadness) reminded me of my relatives and the richness of their lives and life events, many of which I took part in. I hope you find these interesting but more importantly, are encouraged to undertake similar information gathering

As all eulogies are for members of the one family, it is interesting to read sometimes differing views of family events and personalities. So, by way of a mud map, these eulogies link as follows:

• Marjorie Cooper, daughter of Ethel May Hungerford [E.6.13a] and Mother of Truxton, Bruce and Janet, three of her four children;
• Ian, son of Truxton.

I encourage members to consider their past family members and submit articles regarding them for publication in the HAFS Journal or on this website. If you are unsure just how to get started, see the Guidelines for Authors for inspiration and instruction.