Appreciation: John Francis Neville Derrick Perera

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

What will matter is not your competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter are not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but by choice.

They say "a father's love could be never replaced" that's exactly what we feel dear Thaththi from the day you left us, the day you very slowly and gently breathed that last breath and went to our creator on October 15, 2012. The way you parted was so similar to your character.... peaceful and gentle....

John Francis Neville Derrick Perera, was born on February 10, 1926, and was the only son of Neville and Seitha Perera of Kindamulla Estate in Veyangoda. He was raised by his parents, uncles and aunts with a lot of love and was raised like a precious flower that had started to bloom.

His early education was at St Thomas's College, Mt Lavinia, where his father was educated too. He was very proud of his Alma meter and was a true Thomian always living by the values taught to him.

My father enjoyed playing Tennis, Cricket and Hockey and he had a passion for music and dance. In the 1950's, he participated in the Ballroom Championships and had won many a trophies for his talents.

On the insistence of his parents, he had chosen to do Medicine and was following lectures in the first year when he was able to convince his parents that he was not cut out to be a doctor, the main reason being the inability to handle the sight of blood.

My father ended up doing Law, which he liked I guess and worked for over 50 years at D L and F De Saram, a well reputed law firm and at the time he retired he had served as Senior Partner for over 20 years.

He was a man who was committed to the job he did and De Sarams was his second home. His clients ended up his friends. Some of the clients who came for his funeral sat and waited near the body stating that he had spent several hours with them trying to sort out their issues. They truly respected him and loved him, which was very evident from the things his clients told the family and also the cards and letters the family received.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, felicitated him on completion of 50 years of practice in 2004, and he practiced right until two weeks before his demise. His passion for his work kept him going and he was a happy and contented person.

He was not an overly ambitious person, but enjoyed very much and believed in what he did. He was ethical and committed to his profession.

For my father, it was never riches in terms of materialistic things that interested him but what he really wanted was the richness of family bonds. The love and care he gave his family, his friends and his relations could never be measured.

He was a person who was there for whoever who needed him, whether it was my mother, his three children, his in laws, his grand children, his friends and relations, including his nieces and nephews. He was a person who would look at things from different angles and would do what is best for the other person. He would always keep the best interest of the other person in mind.

Thaththi was very close to his four grand children who were his pride and joy. For us it is so hard to even imagine that you have left us nearly three months ago. It's very hard for us to fill this void you have left in our lives.

Each day we wake up and think it was only a dream and that you would be either seated in your office room or you would come walking out of your room or you would be seated in the back verandah.

Dear Thaththi, even though you are not physically near us, we feel your presence, you will always be close to us in our hearts. All what you have taught us, the ethics, the precious things in life to be the bonds of love and friendship will always be there with us.

Thank you is such a small word for all what you have done for us, not only as a precious father, but thaththi you have been a 'best friend' in all our lives. You were our source of security, however old we may have been, whatever decision we would need to take, we would discuss the same with you and you would always give your valuable advice to us and guide us. You were always such a pillar of strength to us. We learnt everything we had to learn from you thaththi.

You were a man who believed in simple things in life and the most valuable treasure you always had was the love and the bond of family and true friends. You always taught us that nothing can ever replace that. You used to say people could live in palaces, have all the treasures, but if they do not have the love and bonds of family and true and faithful friends, they have lived a very lonely life without the true riches of life.

You were a living example to us all of the teachings of the bible and your faith was unwavering. You were able to inculcate this faith not only in your children but also your grandchildren too.

Till we meet again my precious thaththi.... our precious thaththi, may your soul rest in peace......

Your daughter always and forever.