When Mervyn Theobald left St Michael and St John’s Cathedral for the final time yesterday, a horse pulling a cart walked before him.
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The gesture was an echo of the 96-year-old’s arrival in Bathurst on a horse and cart as a 10-year-old boy.
Samson, the family’s Sussex Punch, stood outside the Cathedral throughout the service.
He stood calm and dignified as a light rain fell.
As the funeral procession made its way up Keppel Street towards the newsagency in Stewart Street that had been a part of Mr Theobald’s life for 87 years, Samson led the way.
A large number of people turned out for the service, many of them in recognition of visits to Theobald’s Newsagency from the time they were children.
“He had the best lollies in town,” one reminisced on the way out.
The service was performed by Father Joe Dooley, who said Mr Theobald had led not only a long life, but a very interesting one.
He said it was fascinating to hear stories of Mr Theobald (pictured) growing up during the Great Depression and yet, despite the hardship, living a happy and fulfilled life.
“Those feelings of childhood really forged a very strong character,” Fr Dooley said.
“To live to 96 years of age, he must also have had a strong constitution.”
The eulogy, written by Mr Theobald’s son Billy, was read out by John Moore.
He spoke of how Mr Theobald was born above the local store in Sofala on April 4, 1918, and related how he told stories of rabbiting and dining on fish caught in the Upper Turon River.
The congregation was also told about how one of the highlights of Mr Theobald’s young life was a trip to the races and the thrill of hearing the bookmaker’s call.
That love of horse racing stayed with him his whole life.
In 1928, when Mr Theobald was 10 years old, the family moved to the big smoke of Bathurst, which had 10,000 people at the time.
Mr Moore spoke of how young Mr Theobald would wake frightened in the night after hearing the clip-clop of horses on the road.
His father had purchased a mixed business on the corner of Rocket and Stewart streets and the youngster was put to work right away.
The story was told of how Mr Theobald met his wife Joyce and nine children followed.
“He said he was trying for a cricket team – he just about made it,” Mr Moore said.
He also spoke of Mr Theobald’s love of the outdoors and his purchase of “The Farm”, a small acreage outside Bathurst, and the many family functions, cracker nights, and cricket matches held there over the years.
Because, above all else, Mervyn Theobald was a family man.
