FRANCIS KOVACEVIC 1 OCTOBER 1962 - 7 OCTOBER 2021
EULOGY
Everyone who knew Frank knew his passion was cars, and particularly the restoration of classic cars.
But Frank restored everything including everyday cars – he just loved cars.
In a recent conversation, I asked Frank “why are you fixing that cheap car”.
Frank admitted that he just couldn’t let a car beat him. He said he had to fix it, and saw it as a personal challenge.
Over the years with Frank, I discovered he had an incredible mind for cars and cars parts. He was literally an encyclopedia of car parts, and was able to describe the exact shape of a headlight or a tail light of any Ford.
But Frank also had a brilliant and strategic mind for business. He had an extraordinary ability to vision possibilities.
In mid 2014 Frank saw an old shed on the corner of Canberra Avenue and immediately had the vision for a great business opportunity - an electronic billboard.
Seven years, and several legal battles later, Frank’s vision is about to come to fruition with a DA for a 2-sided LED billboard in train, and a signed 10+10 year contract with a digital media group. That billboard will forever remain Frank’s legacy - of his vision and achievement.
Frank had a generous spirit and was always the first to give help to family and friends. If Frank could do something to make someone’s life easier or better - he did it – or at least he tried.
When I first got together with Frank, I recall Frank helped his friend with medical treatments by inviting him to stay at our Gold Coast home for a couple of weeks. Frank took his friend to his doctors, who were doctors that looked outside the box for medical treatments, and paved the way to having him healed.
Frank also did everything in his power to help his daughters - to guide and advance them in life. They were always foremost in his mind Recently Frank helped his eldest daughter Natalie and her husband Bevan acquire two investment properties in Queanbeyan, and in doing so gave them a massive financial boost in their life. Natalie and Bevan are now well on their way to being financially set as a consequence of Frank’s vision, skills and effort.
During my 10 ½ years with Frank, I also saw Frank dedicate a lot of his energy and efforts to his youngest daughter Krista. Frank did everything in his power to help guide her in her life. In 2018 Frank and I took Krista for a holiday to Croatia and paid to fix her teeth with ceramic veneers. Just another example of Frank love for his daughter.
Frank also wanted to share his life experiences with his daughters and create lasting memories . When Frank and I got married in Las Vegas in 2015 we took Krista, Natalie and her husband Bevan with us to our wedding so that Frank could have experiences and memories with his daughters that would last forever.
In the last few years I watched Frank desire to reconnect with his son Stephen. Frank wanted to meet Stephen’s children - Frank’s grandchildren, and get to know them. I recall at one time Frank spoke about restoring a classic Garelli motorbike for Stephen’s son Henry. That was typical of Frank - to immediately want to give his grandson a motorbike, and teach him how to ride.
Sadly that dream did not come to fruition and Frank never got to meet his grandchildren.
During the last 1 ½ years Frank helped care for my 84 year old father. Frank thought nothing of spending his Saturdays driving to Batemans Bay to go grocery shopping for his father in law, and do errands around his house. Frank could have done a million other things far more interesting to him, but he chose to help out his father in law. So generous was Frank’s spirit, that last Christmas Frank suggested we give up spending Christmas at our favourite place, the Gold Coast, and spend it in Batemans Bay so that my father would not spend Christmas alone.
Another amazing quality Frank had, was his desire to see people happy and to laugh. He always tried to make me laugh, and he always wanted me to be happy.
Frank also tried to make my father laugh - a grumpy old man from Bosnia who saw no humour or joy in anything. Frank gave the gift of laughter to my father, and always made a huge effort to joust with him to try to extract a laugh from him.
Frank had a wonderful spirit that maybe not everyone saw. I saw it and loved him for it. He was a wonderful man.
Frank and I were best of friends and had an amazing marriage – 10 ½ glorious years. We packed in a lifetime of experiences in our short 10 ½ years. Frank and I were truly one. We knew what the other was thinking all the time. We finished each other’s sentences, and could read each other’s demeanour without words. But overall Frank and I were just happy to be together.
Over the 10 ½ years with Frank, I learnt a lot from him. He made me a smarter and a better person, and he showed me the time of my life. Frank gave me wonderful experiences that I would never have had without him, and I will cherish forever…..
Driving through Croatia and discovering our homeland.
Learning Croatia has a Great Wall, just like China.
Proving to me that Marco Polo was Croatian, and taking me to Marco Polo’s house on the island of Korcula.
And cycling together in the national park in Rovinj.
I have a million wonderful memories of joyful times with Frank. Snapshots of those memories now come back to me every day in momentary flashbacks. The memories bring me joy and sadness, but I will treasure them forever, as I will treasure him forever.
My mind is full of memories of driving to Queensland and keeping an eye out for my favourite tree - the Morten Bay Fig.
Frank driving me to Macca’s of a morning to get me a coffee.
Sitting at a café in Daruvar with Valentina and Nino, Toncek, and hanging out with Blanka and Tihomir and Arthur (the dog) at their vikendica [weekender].
Me making Frank climb 1000 stairs to the top of yet another castle or ruin in Croatia.
Always walking holding hands.
And just sitting on the couch together, Frank saying “Can you rub my feet, just a little bit”.
Our most favourite thing to do together was drive. That was our thing. We’d just jump in the car and drive. During our drives we talked and dreamed, resolved business matters, saw and experienced new places, and just enjoyed being with each other.
Whether it was just driving around Queanbeyan to look at the places Frank grew up – Wickerslack Lane and the places he rode his bike as a child and young man, or around Paradise Point – my favourite place on the Gold Coast, or the autobahns around Croatia - Frank’s favourite place because he could drive FAST.
Frank taught me a wonderful quality - to forgive. He always jousted that I was a stubborn Bosanka from Livno/Duvno, and he was right, I was. Like all couples occasionally we would have an argument. I would sulk for 4 days, but Frank would want to kiss and make up straight away. After I sulked for 4 days, Frank would come to me and say,“You love me. I love you. You’ll never leave me. Let’s just kiss and make up”.
He was right, as always. In later years, after we had a fight I found that within 10 minutes I would go to him, apologise and say, “You’re right. I love you. You love me. We’ll be together forever, so let’s just kiss and make up.”
Frank was seen as a bit of a tough guy and a rebel. That was true, to the extent Frank hated being restricted by rules and bureaucracy.
Frank was staunch in always speaking his mind, and standing up for his beliefs. Frank never cowered in speaking to appease his audience. Frank said it as it was.
But Frank was a true gentleman, and a man in every sense of the word.
Frank will be my love forever.
I am so proud of the man he was.
It was an honour to be his wife.
I will miss him all the days of my life.
And will await the day that I can be with him again in heaven.
Nada Kovacevic