Former The Courier journalist Geoffrey Williams died on December 22, 2021, aged 81, after a brief battle with the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma.
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Despite spending many years away from Ballarat, the place of his birth, upbringing, and early career, he held a deep affection for the town.
"Ballarat was a city which Geoff loved to the very end," his brother, Kevin, said.
"It was a city that saw the union of our parents, Tom and Effie, and the subsequent family they reared."
Mr Williams' wife, Eileen, also acknowledged Mr Williams' bond with the golden city.
"Geoff knew more about Ballarat history than anyone else living in Ballarat," his wife, Eileen, said.
Mr Williams was born on March 5, 1940.
He was the eldest brother of Kevin, Noel, and the late Janice.
Never a fan of formal education, Mr Williams left school at 14, becoming a painter's apprentice with S. J. Weir.
Mr Williams' parents' initial response to his declaration he would be departing school for work was not a positive one.
According to brother Kevin, a fireworks display around the dinner table ensued. The younger siblings were intent on viewing the tumultuous proceedings, preferring to observe events inside as opposed to playing outside which was the norm.
However, given Mr Williams' characteristric determination, the outcome of the argument was a foregone conclusion.
"Geoff won the day," brother Kevin said.
During Mr Williams' tenure as an apprentice, he completed a journalism course by correspondence. There was more to him than met the eye.
"Geoff was a very intelligent, knowledgeable man," wife Eileen, said.
"He was like a walking encyclopedia. Ask him about sport or history and he had the answers quicker than you could Google."
Immediately after concluding his apprenticeship, he began what would become an extensive and renowned journalism career, starting with The Gippsland Times in Sale.
Given Mr Williams' lack of an automobile at the time, the whole family piled into his father's prized Holden to take the burgeoning writer to the state's east.
It was an emotional time when the car started the journey back to Ballarat having sorted out Mr Williams' accommodation.
"We drove out of his childhood and he stepped into his adult life," brother Kevin said.
"It was the only time I ever saw mum cry."
Two years later, having learnt of his mother's cancer diagnosis, Mr Williams returned to Ballarat to work with The Courier.
Mr Williams specialised in covering the city council, four shire councils, and various courts, as well as a football match every Saturday in winter.
During this period, he would meet wife-to-be Eileen at the Ballarat Civic Hall in November 1962. The venue was well-known for its Saturday dances.
Mr Williams was clearly taken with the young femme from Daylesford. He said as much to his friend, Michael Daly, although he was rather blunt in his summation.
"I met this girl tonight and she's a good dancer, but I think she's a 'dago' and she probably won't be interested," Mr Williams predicted at the time.
As it turned out, Eileen was actually interested and the relationship would blossom, Mr Williams working in the afternoons and then meeting Eileen, named 'nursey girl' by Mr Williams due to her profession in the medical field, in the evenings.
The two were great dancers and they left an impression wherever and whenever they strutted their stuff. The modern waltz was a favourite.
The couple married in 1964.
Soon after their nuptials, Mr Williams went back to Sale, taking up the role of editor of The Gippsland Times, before joining The Bendigo Advertiser as chief reporter.
Wanting to sharpen his sub-editing skills, Mr Williams moved back to Ballarat for a second stint at The Courier.
In 1966, Mr Williams was recruited by The Dominion in Wellington, New Zealand, as a sub-editor. Here, he distinguished himself in 1968 by phoning an exclusive report to The Herald in Melbourne on the capsizing of the inter-island ferry, The Wahine, a disaster which cost 52 lives.
Subsequently, The Herald offered Mr Williams a job, so he, Eileen, and and their two children at the time moved to Melbourne.
From there, Mr Williams went to Adelaide, a long-desired destination, in 1971 to work as a sub-editor with The News and, later, as sports editor of The Sunday Mail.
Mr Williams joined Adelaide's morning paper, The Advertiser, in 1981, at the dawn of the computer age of Australian newspapers, working as a general news sub-editor, then regional editor, and later, chief of staff.
Mr Williams was appointed to the position of features editor and, finally, to the dual roles of travel editor and cadet trainer/counsellor, introducing many promising young journalists to the profession and instilling in them his philosophy of maintaining factual and grammatical accuracy, integrity, news balance, and readability.
Mr Williams was a disciple of old-school journalism.
"Dad was a well-accomplished and highly-regarded journalist," daughter Carol said.
"He had a reputation of being fierce, but fair. He had an eye for accuracy and had high standards. All of these qualities got results."
When past colleagues received news of Mr Williams ill health, he was flooded with correspondence addressing the profound influence he had had on so many in the often-ruthless field.
"I don't think they make journalists like dad anymore," daughter Carol said.
Even on his death bed, Mr Williams' enviably pedantic nature was evident.
Mr Williams asked his great friend and colleague Mike Jaensch to write his obituary.
"I needn't have worried though," Mr Jaensch recalled, light-heartedly.
"Geoff had already written it himself... in his own handwriting... on 12 pages of a spiral-bound notebook, word-perfect, not a spelling, punctuation, or grammatical mistake in sight!
"This guy was obsessive about accuracy."
While Mr Williams' occupation was of immense importance to him, so too was his cherished family.
"When we were growing up, dad would often talk about his life as a child," daughter Carol said.
"He spoke with great fondness of his mum and dad and the way in which they had fostered a great sense of family.
"He spoke with tenderness of his mother and pride when speaking of his father. He talked about the closeness of the aunts and uncles. He always had the highest regards for (his siblings)."
The significance of family was constantly emphasised and times like Easter, birthdays, and Christmas were deeply valued.
Indeed, Christmas was brought forward in 2021 to ensure Mr Williams was able to experience it.
"He was able to sit at the table and watch the festivities for one more time," daughter Carol said.
"Although he couldn't say much, his movements and tiny smiles said it all.
"We were grateful we had this day."
There were times when Mr Williams displayed larrikin traits.
During one night in the 1960s, Mr Williams took Eileen on a drive to Buninyong, just outside Ballarat.
Perhaps trying to impress, Mr Williams attempted to take a 90-degree corner at speed.
The car skidded on gravel and trees and seats were narrowly missed, as was a catastrophic crash.
"We won't do that again," Mr Williams suggested.
On another occasion, in 1975, the Williams family hosted a fundraiser at their home. It involved poker machines and two-up.
"If we are raided tonight, I will go to jail," Mr Williams confessed.
The night continued and $3000 was raised.
Yet, Mr Williams was also a man of sensitivity and emotion.
His passion for the Christmas hymn, 'Jerusalem', knew no bounds.
The annual rendition of Ballarat's David Hobson at the Myer Music Bowl's 'Carols by Candlelight' was essential viewing for him. Mr Williams would sing along to himself.
Each year, it would only be after this performance when Mr Willians would visit his beloved daughter.
For six decades, the seeds of the disease which took Mr Williams' life had lain dormant in his lungs, the legacy of his several teenage years working as an apprentice in Ballarat from the late 1950s when the dangers of asbestos products in their various forms were little understood.
Mr Williams leaves Eileen, his wife of 57 years, their four children, Phillip, Sandra, Carol and, Annette, and seven grandchildren. His brothers, Kevin and Noel, still live in Ballarat. His sister, Janice, died 10 years ago.
Even though she has many, many years left on this mortal coil, Eileen is anticipating a reunion with her dear husband.
"When we meet again, remember, I will have the next dance," she said.
