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Age at Death: 48
Cause of Death: Heart Attack
Classmate City: Mentone
Classmate State:
Classmate Country: Australia
Survived By: A wife, a son and daughter
Tony went on to live a remarkable life, and became Headmaster at the exclusive Mentone Grammar School, which he had attended as a child. Tony was a brilliant man, and an amazingly gifted athlete who could also drink literally gallons of beer, and often did in 1970 and beyond! Tony continued playing tennis, basketball and Australian football until the day he died. Tony died in the middle of a basketball game. Having stolen the ball, he was dribbling down the court for a sure layup, and fell dead halfway there. I spoke to his best friend, and said, "well, he died doing what he loved." To which his friend replied, "Tony would have preferred to have made the layup, and then die!" When I found that Tony had left us, it was around 2006, and I was able to send one of our senior Yearbooks to his family. In return, they sent me a huge box of magazine articles and various press clippings, and many tributes to him from a vast number of people whose lives he had touched. One in particular, stuck with me, from one of his students: "He always wanted me to be better than I ever believed I could be, and he forced me to believe I could do anything."
- Jim Veal
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Jim Veal (1970)
I was just thinking that some of you might not remember who Tony was, particularly the class of 71 folks. He was an exchange student from Australia, our senior year in 1970, and an outstanding guy. When he first got here in the summer before school started, they had him doing speeches and talks about Australia to all the old women's clubs and various civic clubs around town and he was a trooper and did whatever they asked of him. When I first got to know him, he told me he had grown weary of being on his best behavior all the time and that he really wanted a beer in the worst way, so we became fast friends. Tony and I had some adventures, most notably one night with the Mouchet sisters and Edmund Taylor, that I have sworn to never mention and never will....whoops! You will have to ask Edmund for details.Tony was such a great guy, and we had a lot of fun, that one year.
Dottie Dodd (Graves) (1970)
Oh Tony, what can I say? I first met him at the year book signing we had every year. I was quite taken with him because I had never met anyone from another country. We became friends. I went to some out of town football games with him (the ones the band did not have to attend). But what I most remember is the day we graduated, Bill McGough, Linda Coleman, Tony and I drove to Oak Grove, LA (I think) to see another exchange student that he knew. Of course, we were all drinking, and only God got us home safely. Needless to say, when Linda, Tony and I had to talk at the graduation later that night, we were still a litle tipsy. Oh, the things you remember!!!!! Miss ya Tony.Jim Veal (1970)
I have always wondered how much fun we would have had if he had been in Greenville longer! Of course today, we'd just Skype back and forth or e-mail and text and make free cell calls around the world, but back then, even a letter to Australia was an iffy proposition.When he left, I never spoke to him again. We tried to find him before the 2000 reunion, to no avail.
I'll try to scan some of the printed stuff his friends sent me in the coming days and post it here. Really nice remembrances from people very close to him.
Debbie Chandler (Noland) (1970)
I think probably 90% of the girls at GHS at that time had a crush on Tony. Amazing guy. He started my love affair with Australia. I still would like to visit there one day.Becky Franks (Muirhead) (1971)
Tony was probably the sweetest and the best looking guy at GHS. He was every girls dream fantasy, good looks and sexy accent. To this day the men from Australia still fascinate me.Jim Veal (1970)
Ken Ibsen (1970)
Tony was an exchnage student that lived with Kay and Dick Peterson on Plantation Drive. They would occasionally bring Tony over to our house for supper as well as to go swimming.