RIP my brother Neil

[merv]

I have not had a chance to be on here for well nigh six weeks because of the hectic goings on in my life (and no I will not have time to read all 45,000 posts since I went away).

You may remember I mentioned my oldest brother Neil had developed oesophagus cancer which he first had any inkling of at Easter last year. He was really disappointed to have to miss the Capital Coast Adventure ride in April.

Sadly by May the health system declared he was under palliative care and not curative, meaning his situation was terminal. I spent the rest of last year visiting him regularly and enjoying time with him, none of it on bikes because his form of cancer robbed him of the ability to eat properly and he became quite weak quite quickly losing a lot of weight.

We had no idea how long he'd last and in the meantime my cute daughter decided she was getting married in Zurich Switzerland on January 16th 2009. We had little choice but to plan for attending the wedding. If Neil had been healthy he would have come with us and he wanted us to go ahead with the wedding. We spent Xmas week with him which was nice, and I had him sign a wedding card on 27th December. On 28th of December we headed off to Europe.

Sadly two days before the wedding on 14 January Neil passed away. For the wedding on 16 January I said to my daughter she would need to keep and cherish the card as the last thing she would receive from Neil.

Undertakers are wonderful and were able to hold off the funeral until we got home this week. I see a message got posted on the Ulysses website and many of his fellow Ulyssians were in attendance. Sorry I had no time to get on here earlier.

Neil wasn't a KBer but when he came down to see us in Wellington he did attend some of the local events and go on a few rides with me so some of you did meet him.

Its too early to progress selling his bikes yet as there has to be court sign off of his death and freeing up of his estate and all the usual legal stuff. However, he cared for his bikes fanatically so they are all in good nick and the ones I would be looking to dispose of in the near future are:

Suzuki GR650 1983 (I think) done 76,000km
Suzuki DR350SE (electric start dirt bike) 1995 done 26,000km
Honda XR200RV (this is off road only - no taillight, winkers etc) 1997

Any one vaguely interested, register your interest by sending me a PM and I'll get back to you as I sort things out.

RIP brother, love you, miss you, and as was said to you at the funeral by one of your friends as he tapped your coffin "full throttle now mate".

Photos attached are just ones I found quickly of the three bikes mentioned.

[Nasty]

Merv .. I am so sorry for your loss ... I know that this has been an incredibly hard time for you and your family ... my thoughts have been with you.

[yungatart]

So sorry to hear of your loss, Merv.
It is wonderful that you could spend quality time with him in these last months, a very special thing for both of you.
My thoughts are with you and your family.

[Mom]

Very sorry to hear of your loss Merv.

[merv]

Thanks Nasty not good times for either of us recently, but brightened by the positiveness of the wedding in Zurich for me. Hope you are doing OK.

Here's a photo at the church with his coffin draped with his ride badges and one of his helmets at his head.

[Beemer]

Really sorry to hear the sad news Merv. Take care and no doubt we'll catch up with you on the road one day.

Congratulations to your daughter on her marriage - I bet that card will be treasured.

[ManDownUnder]

Sorry to hear Merv. Yell out if there's anything we can do.
Nigel

[Trudes]

Sorry to hear of Neil's passing Merv. Nothing more I can say really. :hug:

[James Deuce]

I feel privileged I got to meet him, and I am thinking of you Merv.

All the best to you and your family.

[Indiana_Jones]

My condolences mate.

Hope the bikes find an owner soon.

-Indy

[MSTRS]

Heartfelt condolences from me too, Merv.

[98tls]

Sorry for your loss Merv.

[EatOrBeEaten]

Sorry for your loss Merv.

Safe journey Neil, hope the roads are clear and the sun is shining where you are!

[martybabe]

Very sad, all the best to you and your family Merv.

[jtzzr]

My sympathies to you and family Merv...

[FROSTY]

sorry to hear this Merv. Really glad yopu had the time to say goodbye to him.

[Big Dave]

Condolences Merv.

Blaze the trail as he'd want you to old bean.

[Skunk Control]

Take care, thinking of you guys. :hug:

[Skunk]

My condolences to you and family, Merv.

[adam1194]

Hey mate,
I dont know you or your brother, but just wanted to say im sorry for your loss.
My heart goes out to you, your family and his friends.
RIP.

[Paul in NZ]

Vicki and I are sorry to hear that Merv! He seemed a really nice guy the one time I met him and the way you spoke of him said volumes!

[chanceyy]

condolences Merv

[Marknz]

Very sorry to read about your loss, Merv. Hang in there.

[ajturbo]

merv...
i remember meeting him somewhere... cannot remember where though...

sorry to here this news...

AJ

[Hawkeye]

RIP Neil,

I have had the pleasure to have met Neil a couple of times and ridden with him once. It must have been so hard for you Merv these last few months. I'm sure your daughter will treasure that card.

Condolences Mate.

[merv]

merv...
i remember meeting him somewhere... cannot remember where though...

AJ

AJ you saw him when he came along to the MotoGP showings at Kittys a couple of times in 2007 before he got sick.

Thanks to everyone for all your kind words so far. Neil was one who never married or had his own family so I still have the task ahead of wrapping up his estate etc as his closest rellie in NZ. Our one other brother lives in Sydney so isn't really in a position to help so much.

The bad news about this story is the one about cancer - why are the cancer rates increasing? My other brother's Mrs is a nurse in Sydney and she said when she started work about 1 in 7 were getting cancer and now a few decades later it is more like 1 in 3. Neil as an example wasn't a smoker or big drinker and seemed to do little wrong in terms of punishing his body so we have no idea why he got the cancer he did and there were no warning signs.

[Paul in NZ]

Um - tricky question Merv...

You might not like the answers but there is increasing feeling that all the diseases of affluence could be diet related.....

Prime suspects - meat, dairy.....

[merv]

Um - tricky question Merv...

You might not like the answers but there is increasing feeling that all the diseases of affluence could be diet related.....

Prime suspects - meat, dairy.....

Yeah probably right, all the stuff good ole NZ produces in abundance.

My daughter is vegan, hopefully she can live until she is 200 or something.

[I'm motarded]

sorry for your loss merv

[ducatilover]

my thoughts and condolences mate :grouphug::grouphug:

[nudemetalz]

Heartfelt condolences, Merv.
Take care.

[Robbo]

Condolences Merv. Very Best Regards.

[gijoe1313]

My condolences, kia kaha.

[EJK]

The photo silences me. My condolences...

[Okey Dokey]

Sorry for your loss, Merv.

[vifferman]

Merv, I'm sorry to hear this very sad news. My sincere condolences to you in your loss.
All the best to you and your family.

[sugilite]

Condolences Merv. I'm sorry to hear of you and your families loss.

[Lissa]

So sorry Merv, all my best to you and your family.

[Curious_AJ]

very sad to hear, but his suffering is over now.

my condolences.

[merv]

Thanks once again for all your kind words.

[sels1]

(Been away this week and still catching up with things...)

Merv, very sorry to hear this news. Condolences from us to you and your family.

[Gareth51]

Condolences Merv to you and your family

[laserracer]

Sorry to hear of your loss merv, i lost my brother 3 years ago .. i still miss him very much.. but keep your chin up time is a great healer

[merv]

Yeah well we were close as no doubt you were to yours laserracer, so he was my regular riding buddy especially on the gravel where we rode near enough side by side most of the time to keep out of each other's dust.

[Her_C4]

Sorry to read the sad news of your brothers passing Merv. My condolances.:grouphug:

[merv]

Her_B4 if you see LB can you let here know as I haven't had a chance to catch up with her lately and I know she doesn't check out KB these days.

[Her_C4]

Her_B4 if you see LB can you let here know as I haven't had a chance to catch up with her lately and I know she doesn't check out KB these days.

Yes of course I will, seeing her tomorrow:yes:

[Meanie]

Sorry for your loss Merv, not east loosing someone close to you

Congrats on your daughters wedding

[shafty]

Hi Merv,

Real sorry about your Brother Mate, - saw it on the Uly site also.

Sounds like he was a great Mate also. I'm sure you treasure many good memories. Hang in there Dude

Shafty

[merv]

With me now getting into selling Neil's bikes a few people have talked to me about him and his illness. I guess when people go splat its a huge shock and I suspect the grieving is hard.

With cancer, its a slow agonising death and you just see someone deteriorate over time. The last year seems to have gone nowhere for me, but then when I think about it, it seems ages ago that me and him were still riding together. The last few rides we did together were Christmas and New Year '07/'08. Back then he never even knew he had a tumour coming on, but three months later and it was nothing but bad news.

This was one of the rides I posted about - we did about 5 all up that holiday, and he was feeling fine. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=63917

RIP brother.

I appreciated the tribute Denill wrote for the Hawkes Bay Motorcycle Club which read:

"Vale Neil: 29 June 1951 - 14 January 2009

I recently attended the funeral of Neil, a Hawkes Bay Motorcycle Club life member.

Neil joined the HBMCC in the very early 70s and epitomised the best qualites that one could expect from a M/C club member. He was not a prima donna who thought the scene revolved around him. He was never going to be a NZ champion and Neil knew that.

Neil was not riding to feed an ego either and was always there to encourage the younger riders (including his two younger brothers) who were 'dipping their toes' into the sport. Participating in all aspects of the sport, MX, Trials, trail Rides etc and generally on the same bike as one did in thsoe far off days.

For all that, if they are still about, you will see Neils' name on a number of club trophies, the result of a combination of passion and dogged determination he achieved some worthy club championships. Significantly, Neil did it all with unabated enthusiasm, passion and most importantly - for fun.

Neil your history will continue to provide a great role model for those who follow. God speed.

Bill."

Thanks Bill that about summed him up. He kept competing about 17 years or so after I retired and I was the youngest brother.

So 40 years of riding together and to all out there, yes, "fun" is the word.

[scumdog]

Sorry I never got to meet him at the Sand Bar last year, condolences.

[Brownbikerbabe]

So sorry for your loss.

[wayne708]

Just spotted this thread Merv, I knew you were spending time with your brother but didn't realize he had passed. Sorry for your loss. Wayne.

[Nasty]

What a great tribute Merv :)