Tom Moon
I am deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic accident that claimed the life of my dear friend Tom Moon.
Tom was a member of the Museum’s Governing Committee and has been integral to our development, growth and success. Tom was part of the Museum and the Museum part of him, and it will always be a better place for having had his involvement. He has been by my side since the founding of the Museum and will be forever missed.
Tom was a dear friend, a wonderful person, a brilliant pilot and a great Australian.
On behalf of my wife Margo, and all of us at the Museum, our hearts go out to Tom’s wife Roxarne and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the rest of the family.
David Lowy AM
President and Founder
Eulogy for Tom Moon
28 January 2009
This eulogy was delivered by David Lowy AM at Tom Moon’s Memorial Service on Wednesday, 28th January 2009.
It is a privilege for me to have this opportunity to speak about our great friend Tom Moon today, and I thank Roxarne and Tom’s family for allowing me to do so.
We’ve already heard, and all of us here know, what a wonderful person Tom was.
That he left us doing what he loved most is not much consolation, at least not yet.
Maybe in time it will be some consolation, but for now I feel his loss too much to be consoled by that truth.
I met Tom 19 years ago, and our flying careers proceeded in lockstep from that day forward.
He became a great friend, a colleague and a confidant.
He and Roxarne shared much of their life with Margo and me, they were wonderful companions, for each other, and for us.
Tom was modest, understated & unassuming – not characteristics normally associated with pilots I’m sure you’ll agree, but he was undoubtedly an incredible pilot.
Tom never stopped sharing with me everything he knew about flying. Even as competitors he was always generous with his advice and he was a fierce competitor, not because he wanted to beat his opponent, but because he thrived on competitive spirit.
He simply wanted to be as good as he could be, and he wanted the same for everyone around him.
That sort of generosity of spirit is a very rare thing indeed.
Tom has been with me by my side since the Museum was just an idea and he was integral in its establishment, growth and success. He was part of the Museum, and the Museum was part of him, I relied upon him completely, and he was totally dependable.
Kenny & Lisa, Pete, Lyndsay and all the crew there, relied upon him just as much.
And I know he gave of himself to them as generously as he did to me.
In time, I am sure we will reconcile the loss of Tom.
We will smile at his memory.
But it’s very hard to see that today.
I’m just grateful that so many of you are here, to share our stories of Tom, and take from them what comfort we can.
It will stand as a great honour for Margo and I to have known Tom Moon, to have shared his life and to have counted on him as a dear friend.
I’m sure each and every one of you feels the same way and I know we will all miss him very much.
David Lowy AM