R.I.P Adrian Evett. Loving husband and dad, inspirational mentor

It is with great sadness that I write this. My beautiful loving husband passed peacefully last Friday.  I've posted information about his funeral and celebration of his life on facebook and let all out networks know.

Below is the obituary I have written for him.. It just doesn't seem enough as he was so so much more. Every hour is a black hole of emptiness. 

Many thanks to Pow Pow Photography for this gorgeous shot of Age

The eldest of three, Adrian Giles Evett was born 1st of January 1968 In Luton, England. He emigrated with his parents to Geelong; where the growing family enjoyed camping and caravanning holidays. With the love of the outdoors deeply instilled, Adrian continued to enjoy hiking and camping throughout his life.

Adrian was a scholarship student at Geelong Grammar, but made the decision to join his family in Queensland when they moved for his fathers health. He was torn with career options, his love of nature willing him into environmental and marine biology, but the lure of the exciting new industry of information technology captured his desire to unlock mysteries and solve problems. At university, Adrian developed a passion for the martial arts and weaponry, balancing this with classical guitar.

As an unqualified programer, Adrian met Annie while he was teaching karate. She convinced him to re-enrol and complete his university degree to escape the drudgery of coding.  His meticulous attention to detail and driven personality saw him succeed within IT, moving quickly from a programmer to IT analyser  and into managerial positions which drew on his interpersonal and communication skills. His passion for learning new things and pushing boundaries opened career opportunities, allowed him to develop skills within finance portfolios and risk analysis, seeing him become one of the most knowledgeable people within this market and a highly sought after speaker at international conferences. Annie and Adrian continued their shared interests in bushwalking, camping and martial arts; opening a successful Karate Dojo in the Stanthorpe area.

The recession of the early 1990‘s saw Adrian and Annie lose jobs overnight. They packed their belongings and moved into a tin shed with an outdoor bathroom, working in menial jobs until they married in 1993. With promises of teaching jobs in the UK, Adrian followed Annie to London, where they intended to live for at least 10 years. They traveled extensively, from backpacking, to bicycling through to motorcycle touring. It was whilst they were planning an overland trek back to Australia on motorcycles, that Adrian had his first seizure. A brain tumour was discovered and radiotherapy undertaken. Adrian and Annie focused on returning to Australia to be with family.

Research into natural therapies and options shared their lives over the next 13 years. Adrian continued to confound doctors with his health and conviction to heal himself. After being told they were not able to have children, they were gifted with Morgan and Lilly.

As travel and experiences were so important to Adrian and Annie, from an early age, the children were introduced to international travel, with the family ensuring to make meaningful memories on frequent adventurous holidays and camping trips.

Adrian’s passions focused on interpersonal communication skills, leadership and mentoring. He was driven to explore the place of masculinity and fatherhood within society and foster support groups to enrich and enable men to step up and into their own beings. Adrian and Annie were a driving force with the Brisbane Basket Brigade, a charitable organisation and initiated the Brisbane Yes Group, a supporting meet up group for Tony Robbins Graduates, a true legacy of his leadership and passion for self development.

Although Adrian’s brain tumour continued to grow and affect certain facilities, Adrian refused to bend to give in to it. His ability to adapt and the families conviction to remain within normality, ensured that they enjoyed a love filled home with laughter and wonderful memories.

When the tumour began to affect his ability to work, the family decided to sell their suburban lifestyle, go travelling with the intention to settle in a peaceful beachside village so that Adrian could convalesce. Adrian and Morgan (10yrs old) walked the 800 km Santiago Camino Pilgrimage. Lilly and Annie met them at the 120km mark and the family completed the walk together, despite his increased impediments to movement and speech.  After this momentous trek, sadly Adrian's health deteriorated rapidly.

A big man with a bigger heart who displayed courage and determination along his entire life’s journey, Adrian’s influence planted the seeds of greatness in so many lives, one which will not be forgotten.