ARTIST Sharon Allan lost the will to paint when her brother Warwick “Wocka” Rapley had a massive heart attack and died on a Dubbo cricket pitch nine months ago.
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But a committee of his mates and admirers has helped her pick up a paintbrush for a good cause.
The committee asked and received support from Mr Rapley’s grieving relatives in organising a memorial dinner set down for tomorrow night.
Proceeds from the event will go to the Pink Angels that gives breast cancer patients in Dubbo a big helping hand, and the purchase of two treatment chairs costing $8000 each for the oncology unit at Dubbo Hospital.
Thousands of dollars in donations have poured in for silent and live auctions, and raffles.
The raffle for Mrs Allan’s paintings in honour of her deceased brother will be drawn on the night.
Returning to the easel proved easier than expected.
“I got into it so quickly,” Mrs Allan said yesterday.
“It was like he was sitting on my shoulders and helping me to paint.”
Mrs Allan said involvement in the fundraising dinner had been “therapeutic” for her and other family members.
Warwick Rapley’s sudden death at the age of 51 prompted tributes from across the community.
The proprietor of Dubbo City Plumbing had made his mark on the football field and in the swimming pool before becoming a devoted family man and mentor/coach for young sportsmen.
He was struck down when playing father-son cricket, a sport he had only taken up two weeks earlier.
Mrs Allan said her brother had not “saved the world or anything like that”, but he had touched many lives in a positive way.
“I loved that he called a spade a spade and he never knocked anyone,” she said.
Coincidentally the memorial dinner at Dubbo RSL Memorial Club from 6pm falls on what would have been Mr Rapley’s 52nd birthday.
“At least we’ll all be together celebrating his birthday instead of being home and being sad,” Mrs Allan said.
“Warwick did everything he was put on this earth to do, but he just went far too early.”
Dinner tickets costing $110 each cover live music and a three-course meal.
They can be purchased from the club up until lunch time today.
Warwick Rapley is survived by his wife Debbie and children Joel, Jye, Kaide and Kobe.