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Farewell – Celebrating the life of…

In memory of those in Kairos who have passed.

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This page commemorates those in the Kairos family who have passed.

If you would like to include a former volunteer on this page, please send an email to the Kairos Support Office at [email protected]

Guidelines are as follows:

  • Please keep each item to less than 500 words
  • Photos only with the family’s permission
  • Try to obtain input from more than one person
  • Include the names of the authors
  • Focus on their Kairos contribution – what, where and when

2024-11 - Trevor Bail

Trevor Bail passed away on 12 November 2024. Trevor was the founding chair of Kairos Inside in Canberra and led the second short course here.

Our prayers are with his family at this time.

2024-11 - Trevor Bail

2024-09 - Margaret Irwin

It is with a mixture of sadness for us and yet joy for her, we advise our dear sister Margaret Irwin passed away this morning.

She has gone 'home' to her Lord & Saviour.

Margaret volunteered with Kairos for many years in both Kairos of Central-West and Sydney regions.

For the Glory of God,

(Source: Kairos of Sydney Facebook page)

2024-09 - Margaret Irwin

2024-04 - John Spriggs

On behalf of the Kairos Prison Ministry and Emmaus Walk Communities we recognise the valuable contributions and service that John Spriggs made to these ministries and to the Residents and Pilgrims who attended these programs and their families who benefitted as a consequence.

For those of us who personally knew John we were very saddened when we learnt that he had passed away due to illness.  Notwithstanding our sadness, we celebrate John’s life and pay our respect to him and extend our sympathy to his family members, friends, and colleagues.

I first met John in May 1994 when he was an Assistant Lay Director for the Queensland Emmaus Brisbane North Community Men’s Walk #6.  John’s involvement with Kairos dates back to the mid-nineties and he was there on the Kairos #1 Queensland Team at the Borallon Correctional Centre in October 1999.  He was there at the start of Kairos Prison Ministry in Queensland and an active member of the Queensland State Council with some 25 years’ experience and dedication as the State Council Secretary.  He was continuing in this role at the time of his passing.

His faith in Jesus Christ and his commitment to his local church family as well as Kairos and Emmaus ministries, offering hope and encouragement, was a testament to us all.  John was highly respected within the Industrial Relations industry.

We always enjoyed his company.

John, you will be sadly missed.  Thank you for your legacy and we commit to carry them on through faith, service, and work.

(Source Greg Trost; Secretary for Kairos State Council of Queensland
2024-04 John Spriggs

2024-03 - Francis Patrick Carrol

In memory of Francis Carrol who went to be with Jesus in glory on 14 March 2024. 

Following his retirement as Archbishop of the Canberra – Goulburn Diocese, Francis Carroll returned to Wagga Wagga where he continued his valued  support for the Kairos Prison Ministry.

Well known to a lot of Kairos Junee Inside Teams; Inmates and Staff:  all referred to him as ‘Father Frank.

He consistently attended the Junee Journey Program as long as his health allowed.  Greatly missed

(Source Joseph Kipper; Secretary for Kairos of Junee)
2024-03 Francis Carrol

2022-04 Dorothy Snushall

In Loving Memory of 
Dorothy Snushall

Passed away April 2022.

For over 20 years Dorothy was God's instrument of grace serving Kairos at Cessnock CC, Muswellbrook CC, Kairos Torch at Frank Baxter & Kairos Outside Hunter. 
She was passionate & committed in every role she was given, always demonstrating the unconditional love of God, as part of the kitchen team, prayer team, agape team & Journey team. 
Dorothy was part of the committee that met to form Kairos Outside in the Hunter & for many years served on the committee until she became Chairperson. 
She served on team for many KO Weekends, & led a Weekend where her theme was 'Grow in Grace' - & this is how Dorothy endeavoured to live, & will be remembered - growing in God's grace to be His instrument of grace to everyone, & especially those needing hope, that she met on life's journey.

2022-04 Dorothy Snushall

2021-11 Sharn O'Har

In Loving Memory of 
Sharn O'Har

Passed away in November 2021.

Sharn O'Har was a guest at a Kairos Outside Weekend in Sydney & not long after she & husband Alick moved to the Hunter, she was invited to be part of the KO Community here in the Hunter. 

Sharn saw this as a calling & opportunity to pass on the love & support she had received, to others. 

She was passionate about the ministry & as a committee member she was committed & an encouragement to others. 
As Chairperson, Sharn was a great PR person, leader & organiser, always focused & enthusiastic....especially when it came to fundraising, where every event was successful. 
Sharn & Alick were the hosts at our KO Balls for many years in the Hunter. 
Sensitive & understanding to the situations & circumstances of others, Sharn was able to share from her own experiences to help others, & so over the years she has touched the lives of so many in a beautiful way, so in a sense Sharn lives on through the lovely memories she has left.

2021-11 Sharn O'Har

2021-11 John Bashford

In Loving Memory of 
John Bashford
10.5.1940 – 30.10.2021

Passed away on 30th November 2021.

Husband of Ronda (dec.) and Annie.

Father, Step-Father & Father in Law to Peter & Karen, Brett & Jenny, Diane & Warren, Catherine & Peter, Shane & Michelle, Craig & Heather.

Poppy to Mick & Karlie, Chloe & Rohan, Stephanie & Peter, Dave, Chris & Abbey, Georgia & Isaac, Alan & Kate, Alyssa, Darren, Aiden, Teaghan

Great Pop to Khy, Aston, Edward, Cohen, Noah, Darcie, Bridget, Rosalie, Ryan, Jack, Noah & Kirra.

Brother of Judith, Roger.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on Friday 12th November 2021 at Milton Ulladulla Baptist Church, 215 Matron Porter Drive, Narrawallee starting at 11am.

Please note current Covid legislation requires all adults over 16 must be fully vaccinated to attend John’s funeral and must be able to provide digital or printed proof of vaccination.

For those who are unable to attend, the service can be viewed via live stream

https://miltonulladullafunerals.com.au/live-streaming/ and click on John Bashford

Please wear bright & loud clothing like Hawaiian Shirts, the louder the better.

In lieu of flowers please donate to the Kairos Prison Ministry Australia.

https://web.thankqportal.com/kpma/donation/#/stepper?pageid=3799

A Ministry John was very passionate about.

2021-11 John Bashford

2021-07 Peter Francis

A tribute to Peter Francis

Peter Francis, a man of faith, humility, compassion, prayer, love for others & most of all, commitment, went to be with his beloved Lord on 26 June 2021 aged 78.

Peter had been diagnosed with a brain tumour over 3 years ago and in his own words he called this an “Adventure”.  He wrote in December 2019 “It is not the sort of experience to be anticipated with great excitement, but it is a wonderful opportunity to call on our great God, and to give ourselves, more than ever before, to journey with Him. 
God has been with me for every step of this adventure, and He has made this very, very clear to me.  Of course I know that He is with me always and He will never abandon me. 
He has told me this and I have no reason to doubt Him, but there are times when we might be particularly aware of His presence with us.  This has been the case for me during recent times.”

Peter was a dedicated and loving father to his daughter Louise and devoted grandfather to his 2 grandsons. It was while taking his daughter to Sunday School he developed a strong faith and an abiding love of his Lord.  His faith never waived from that time.  In fact he subsequently went to Bible College and became a pastor. 
Peter pastored in many churches.  His sermons were always clear and he explained the Bible so that all could understand. His love for the Lord shone through his talks and he was always ready to listen to others. Peter was also a gifted a gifted musician and blessed many with his beautiful Welsh voice.

He was also an author, having published “God Talk” in 2014.  This book was based on his journal of times spent with God, praying and listening to Him and explaining, in simple terms, God’s love and purpose for each one of us.

Peter became very involved in Emmaus, serving on many teams in the Sydney area as well as in regional areas, especially Bathurst.

Peter’s involvement in Kairos began in 2003 when he was on team in Silverwater Correctional Centre. After that he served on many Silverwater teams. In 2007 Peter was appointed to the Board of KPMA as the Spiritual Director and he remained on the Board until 2012. He was involved in Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside Women and Men, Torch and PFK (Preparation for Kairos).   
He always treated the team and participants with respect, gentleness and grace, and always with a warm smile. Peter understood his ministry was to God’s people.

However not only was Peter involved in Kairos courses but also contributed greatly to the wellbeing and advancement of Kairos not only with his Board involvement but through conferences/meetings and especially talking with and listening to all the regions, even to the extent of visiting each region to gather advice as to how Kairos could be improved.

Whilst we are sad because Peter is no longer with us we rejoice that he is now in the safe hands of his precious Lord.  We are so thankful to God for bringing Peter into our lives and for his amazing ministry to so many people from all walks of life.

A Thanksgiving Service will be arranged when times become more normal.

Terry Clancy & Mavis Hedrik

With contributions from Gill Begbie, Roberta Tsai, John Jenkins, Greg Setchell

2021-07 Peter Francis

2021-05 Paul Page

farewell paul page

A tribute to Paul Page

John Morony Regional Committee.

It is with sadness that we give this tragic news.

On Monday 24th May Paul Page was promoted to Glory.
We send our condolences to his wife Shirley and children Anne and David. Paul was 65 and a devoted father.

Paul retired from working in local government in his late 50s and became the Rectors Warden and Treasurer at St Stephens Anglican Church in Penrith NSW where he has served faithfully. He completed an Advanced Diploma of Bible, Mission and Ministry at Moore College in Sydney.  He was a Growth Group Leader and a vital part of the running of the Church. Paul also had a long involvement with Cursillo and served on team many times.

Paul has been involved with Kairos serving in the old John Morony II complex now known as the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre. He then was a part of the foundational Committee for John Morony taking on the role of Secretary serving on many teams and being the leader of John Morony 3 in March 2019.

Paul will be sadly missed by us for his outstanding attention to detail in taking minutes and his often dry sense of humour.

Blessings Mel (Malcolm) Ashby Chairman John Morony Regional Committee.

2021-05 Paul Page

2021-03 Margaret Fuller

A TRIBUTE TO MARGARET FULLER, OAM, 24th September 1940 - 20th March 2021

If you were fortunate enough to have served alongside Margaret Fuller, you would have recognised she was no ordinary woman. In fact, in many ways, Margaret was extraordinary. For decades she devoted her gifts, time and energy to some of the least valued people in society, having always had a heart for those in need and a desire for them to encounter the love of Jesus and His transformational power. Margaret served on the first Australian Kairos Inside team, held at the Parramatta Correctional Centre. She then became a regular member of Kairos teams in Long Bay and Emu Plains, going on to lead the first team at Berrima CC. Marg was always highly valued as a team member and leader because of her amazing capacity to nurture positive relationships and impart the skills and knowledge needed for effective ministry. Even until a few months before her death, Margaret carried out secretarial duties on the South Coast KI Ad Hoc Committee, supporting Jeff as the inaugural Chair.

Kairos short course participants loved Marg’s warmth, listening heart and the way she was able to explain difficult concepts so clearly. In turn, Margaret saw them as treasured people who
deserved to be treated with respect and compassion. She always made sure they knew how important they were to her, remembering past conversations, affirming them and never allowing the focus to be on herself. Margaret reflected God’s light in the darkness of prisons and brought His love and hope to many. She often said that true faith enters through the head, then to the heart and out through the feet.

Margaret Fuller also cared deeply about the often-forgotten ones, those women impacted by the imprisonment of friends or family members. Since first joining the Kairos Outside Sydney community in 2010, she regularly contributed her broad range of God-given gifts to create dynamic and relevant team formation sessions, leading a team in 2015. She then accepted the role of Advising Leader for the first Kairos Outside weekend held in 2016 at Tuross Heads.
Margaret‘s impact on the Kairos ministry was nationwide. Along with Jeff, she served on the 3 Kairos Board from August 2000 until July 2006. As programs began to open up in women’s prisons and through Kairos Outside, she took on the important role of ‘Women’s Ministry Coordinator’. Later, Margaret joined the national Program Support and Development Group for Kairos
Outside established in 2009, serving for 5 years. Her abilities were harnessed through 8 years as
a national trainer. She also made a significant contribution to the 2016 Australian Kairos
Outside manual, in particular the pivotal section on team skill building. Margaret‘s vast
professional experience meant that she knew how to guide others to create their own solutions and resolve difficulties.

Margaret Fuller was a valued member of the Kairos community, a dear sister and friend, irreplaceable - one of a kind. Even though our hearts break, particularly for Jeff and the family, we rejoice that Marg now soars on eagle’s wings and is safe in God’s hands having received a
hero’s welcome. 

2021-03 Margaret Fuller

2021- Rex Chapman

Vale, Rex Chapman (2021)

The first thing one noticed about Rex Chapman when you met him was the expression “ a man's man”, a battler, as echoed by his supportive wife, Helen, and for that he will be remembered for a long, long time, particularly as we consider the prolonged struggle he had with health in the last year or two.

As a man who worked (hard) with his hands and never took short cuts Rex was a great asset to Kairos and as anyone who had the opportunity to work with him will appreciate he had a heart for others born out of his faith in the God he served with passion. 

Rex first came on team in 2013 but it was soon obvious his heart for the men in green was deep and by 2018 he led his team at MNCCC with great results. All that time and until Covid struck he continued to support the men with the weekly Journey programme, impressing them with his down to earth approach to faith and his love of Jesus. His greatest asset was to make friends instantly...just one of the boys! If there was a need to be physical, Rex would usually put his hand up as when putting up or fixing fences...as his email address recorded, “rexthegate”!

He lived with a deep conviction that people needed help and encouragement. Old and young, good and bad and ugly. And being a man’s man, he fell with great comfort into countless mentoring, fathering roles, just being a ‘mate’ to blokes. It was a gift and a passion with Rex.  It was his ‘Mission field!  I can only hope that when I ‘Cut Out’ (as Rex would call finishing a fencing job), that I’ve stuck to the task which God has given me with such tenacity.

I love that he took Tuesdays off so that he and Helen could spend a whole day every week with his grandchildren, I could see from the contents of his prayers all those Wednesday mornings, that if something wasn’t right in his family, it was the priority in his prayer life, and frankly, I want to be more like that. I cherished our friendship, count the time I had with Rex as a privilege, and say with absolutely no hesitation, “Job well done my good brother”.

2021- Rex Chapman

2021 - Heather Graham

Tribute for Heather Graham (2021)

Heather was faithfully involved with the Kairos Ministry at Berrima starting from Kairis Inside for Women #4 at Berrima and continuing until Berrima closed in September 2011.

She also served on the committee. Heather was a prayer warrior for kairos until she went to be with our Lord and Saviour Tuesday Morning.

Heather encouraged so many throughout her life and was adopted by many of the Berrima girls as a substitute Grandmother.

She certainly took Christ to Berrima and blessed all who had the privilege to meet and or serve with her.

Love & Blessings
Robyn Allen

2021 - Heather Graham

2024-04 - John Spriggs

On behalf of the Kairos Prison Ministry and Emmaus Walk Communities we recognise the valuable contributions and service that John Spriggs made to these ministries and to the Residents and Pilgrims who attended these programs and their families who benefitted as a consequence.

For those of us who personally knew John we were very saddened when we learnt that he had passed away due to illness.  Notwithstanding our sadness, we celebrate John’s life and pay our respect to him and extend our sympathy to his family members, friends, and colleagues.

I first met John in May 1994 when he was an Assistant Lay Director for the Queensland Emmaus Brisbane North Community Men’s Walk #6.  John’s involvement with Kairos dates back to the mid-nineties and he was there on the Kairos #1 Queensland Team at the Borallon Correctional Centre in October 1999.  He was there at the start of Kairos Prison Ministry in Queensland and an active member of the Queensland State Council with some 25 years’ experience and dedication as the State Council Secretary.  He was continuing in this role at the time of his passing.

His faith in Jesus Christ and his commitment to his local church family as well as Kairos and Emmaus ministries, offering hope and encouragement, was a testament to us all.  John was highly respected within the Industrial Relations industry.

We always enjoyed his company.

John, you will be sadly missed.  Thank you for your legacy and we commit to carry them on through faith, service, and work.

(Source Greg Trost; Secretary for Kairos State Council of Queensland
2024-04 John Spriggs
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