RETIREMENT OF BERYL
COX
(September, 1991, for the
'The Chronicle' magazine)
There is only one member of staff
universally known to every Wesley College student and teacher who has attended
Wesley at Glen Waverley. That person is Mrs Beryl Cox.
Mrs Cox, who retires from her Tuckshop
and Sick Bay duties at the end of 1991, holds this unique place in Wesley's
history because she alone amongst any staff member of the school has served
at Glen Waverley since the day the Campus opened in 1966.
She is the only person who can trace
back the Lynch, Conabere, Gregory and Wells line of Headship, who can visualise
the bare, muddy and stony grounds upon which grey blocks of mono-storeyed
buildings were breeezily and sparsely distributed, and who can recount
the expansion of the school roll from 400 greyly short-trousered boys to
over 1000 co-eds boldly emblazoned in purple!
It is entirely fitting that the last
of the original staff team to leave the Campus is the one who, each day
of its existence, has administered practical care for the community's health.
Mrs Cox's service to the people of
Wesley at Glen Waverley has been total. She has carried out her dual
duties as Matron and Tuckshop Manager superbly throughout her twenty-six
years of dedicated work. In addition to her normal Tuckshop tasks
and care for the ill and injured, Mrs Cox variously has prepared staff
lunches in the Dining Room of earlier years, provided suppers for meetings
and functions, helped with the Lion's Larder, been on duty for weekend
sport and been a constant and untiring provider in the staff room.
All who know her admire the gentility
and serenity which transcends her work. She is always kind and thoughtful.
Well remembered will be her sensitive, smiling face, her calm, reassuring
voice and her comforting presence as she made her way from bedside to kitchen,
from staff room to playground. Thousands of Wesley people are grateful
for Mr Cox's care and they quietly send their thanks and best wishes for
her happy retirement. |