This page is for Lionel Richards, one of the foundation members of the SPCA, who so sadly passed away before he could see the fruits of the work that he had dedicated his life to putting in place. Please note that some of these messages have been edited by the SPCA. We haven't changed the expressions in the messages just removed some items that were repetitions or not appropriate for the purposes of this page.

We salute Lionel and with him others who have not been able to stand with us as we embark now on implimenting the sweeping new reforms and changes to the way we handle relationship breakdown.

Poem for Lionel

Thank you Lionel Richards,
For the work that you have done.
You pushed away the night,
At the setting of the sun.

You were the hand of light,
That reached into the dark.
Of the sorrow and despair
And lit a fathers spark.

You cared, where governments didn't,
You fought for what was right.
You inspired with your words and actions,
For fathers and their plight.

You were an inspiration,
To parents everywhere.
To fight for what is right,
For their children's lives to share.

You saved fathers lives,
You gave kids back their dad.
You helped anyone who needed it,
Against a system that is so bad.

We sit here sad and grieving,
For your family and kids.
For children everywhere,
To you we dip our lids.

Whether we met you in person,
Or not, you still inspire
You are a modern day hero,
Lionel A Richards, esquire.

I feel a little more alone,
And the fight seems very long.
Without your emails on OzyDads,
They were the morning song.

Through misty eyes,
And many tears.
I give you an Aussie salute
I crack a couple of beers.

You lead from the front,
You had the strength of ten.
You helped so many women,
And many, many men.

You've given many parents,
Back their daughter or son.
Thank you Lionel Richards,
For all that you have done.

You are a hero.

Mark Millard

Lionel Richards, father of three teenage children (Carl, Amy & Andrew), friend to many and activist, passed away on Saturday 6th August 2005 from a heart attack.
There are those who exist on this world and contribute little. There are great men that do deeds in this world and give something. And then there are those who are the greatest of all and give everything.
Our most beloved and dearly missed friend Lionel will stand along side those in history who were the pioneers and the instigators of change in the dawn of the most exciting reforms in the history of the Family Law reform movement on the planet.

Lionel is the greatest of all. His sacrifice is an inspiration to us to carry on. It has been our privilege to be with Lionel to the end.

Lindsay Jackel said

Lionel had previously had some heart issues, about 3-4 years ago, and had recuperated from those, with some rest. He appeared in good health and spirits when I met with him in June, in Melbourne, on a stopover on his way home from the Canberra demonstration. As usual, he was fired with his vision and passion to reach out and to help others in practical ways and our conversation covered the broad range of people and activities that Lionel was involved with. Lionel (ex-Captain Munchies restaurant) in Fremantle, loved his children and was passionate about them and their welfare, and often spoke of them. He worked tirelessly for them ... and for many other separated parents and their children, both locally in the Fremantle, Armadale and Perth areas and around Australia and the world. He loved people and enjoyed helping them. Lionel founded the OzyDads network about 5 years ago and was able to connect and help many people virtually (on the internet) and locally. He will be greatly missed as a man, as a father, as a friend, as an helper of others who came along side them and supported and advised them and as an activist. Lindsay Jackel State Director Victoria Shared Parenting Council of Australia

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Left to right are Geoffrey Green, Lionel Richards, Wayne Butler and Edward Dabrowski.

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Oh what a very sad day today is and remembered by all of us in these groups that one man helped to bring together.

I wept after getting the phone call this afternoon, his poor children, he has helped sooo many of us in all different ways and had so much more life left in him to live.

I want to thank you Lionel Richards for making my husband and I stronger, to believe in ourselves, that we have rights, that our children have rights and that together all of us in the groups can make a difference if we believe in what we are fighting for and believe in each other.

I believe in your power you gave to us Lionel and I promise this, to keep up the fight and to help empower others going through the same things. I promise to help as many people as humanly possible to empower themselves and stand up for their children and their rights.

You once advised me to write a poem how I felt and I did and it all summed up in one sentence didn't it:

ALL FOR THE LOVE OF OUR CHILDREN, PARENTS IS WHAT WE FIGHT TO BE, AND ALL OUR CHILDREN NEED IS LOVING FROM YOU AND ME.
Rest in peace Lionel and thank you from my soul and my husbands for touching our lives and many others you gave always of yourself to help and never gave up fighting for all of our rights, thank you.

Love always and forever.

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We are sorry and saddened to hear of Lionel's passing. Unfortunately we cannot attend his funeral as we are in Tasmania. Lionel helped our family immensely and will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.

Cheree and Kent

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Barry Williams said

Lionel Richards was a great man a believer in human rights, a fighter for the cause that children have rights to both parents, a dedicated and honest man, he came as a delegate to our National conference, in June 2005 and we were honoured to have him there, now he's gone we will all miss him, we send our deepest sympathy to his children and family. Les Gray our president in WA will represent us. Barry Williams Lone Fathers Association of Australia

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My wife and I were deeply saddened to hear of Lionel's passing from a heart attack on Saturday evening.

He worked tirelessly and selflessly to help many men and women defeat the biased system and he battled constantly to improve Family Law.

His efforts will long be remembered by many.

We must continue the struggle or his efforts will have been in vain.

Our thoughts are with Lionel's family at this sad and distressing time.

Regards

Jeff and Penny

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Lionel will be sorely missed by the many people who knew him and the men whom he worked tirelessly to assist. He introduced me to the SPCA network. Despite the huge demands on his time, he still made the effort and found the time to attend several workshops organised by the Men's Advisory Network. He always spoke from the heart and his commitment to every child having the right to be raised by both parents was steadfast. Our deepest sympathy to his children and to those who were close to him from the Committee of Management and members of the Men's Advisory Network.

Gary Bryant

Executive Officer
Men's Advisory Network


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Left to right are Geoffrey Green, Lionel Richards, Edward Dabrowski and Wayne Butler.

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Sometimes on our journey through life, we meet people who leave footprints on our mind - they challenge us to see things differently and to question our personal reality.

Lionel and I shared a passion about children; this passion is that all children deserve to have both parents in their lives, even when the relationship between the parents is fractured and this is how we came to know each other.

Lionel was an incredible person who will be sadly missed by so many who could not be here today. Over the years I have been able to refer many of my clients who were Lone Fathers to Lionel, knowing that he would be able to assist them in their struggle.

Lionel worked tirelessly and voluntarily for the men in Western Australia and also imparted his knowledge via his web site to men all over the world. He was also a well known talk back caller on Radio 6PR on men's issues, where he was able to connect with many vulnerable men.

To Lionel's children, your loss is so immense, your Father loved you dearly, he spoke of you often to me and was proud of you all.

To those of us in Perth and the wider world, Lionel has left a gap in our lives; that I do not know who else can fill. My prayer today is that of the many men Lionel helped; someone will somehow be able to carry on and pick up the reins of the valuable work that Lionel has left unfinished.

Life is eternal, love is immortal, death is only a horizon, the horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

Kathy Box


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Jim Carter said

To all - This is sad news. We have lost one of our best. Jim Carter State Director ACT Shared Parenting Council of Australia

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Edward Dabrowski said

Like all of you I feel gutted and utter disbelief at losing our precious Lionel. My heart goes out to Amy, Carl and Andrew. In the confusing past few days I have written about Lionel to others and so I include my correspondences here as my own way of honouring Lionel. Please know that his work has not been in vain and that we are all stronger individuals for having borrowed Lionel's will and talents, and my word wasn't he an exceptional man. The Family Law changes are nearly upon us and much behind the scenes work has been done by our SPCA Executive to fortify the Family Law amendments that will become law. I'm sorry that Lionel did not get to see the fruits of this primary campaign for children's and parental rights. He worked for the dignity of everyone and to put an end to institutionalised interference, abuse and disrespect of families. Momentous changes are afoot despite the negativity of doubters and distractors, but to be fair, having waited so long for true reform, I would blame no one for being incredulous. Nevertheless, there is cause for much optimism which I am confident will unfold in the next 1 to 2 months as the revised FLR Amendment Bill begins its journey through the House. I can honestly say that I loved the man. Lionel's genius with people set him apart. I am convinced that love and justice drove him to incredible accomplishments and he literally transformed everyone he encountered. Having been privileged to talk and strategise with Lionel on a nearly daily basis, I can truly say without loss of pride that he was the Master and I, his apprentice. We intend to do Lionel proud by continuing the work of the SPCA. We will continue to grow and build relationships. Our friends in the Children's Rights Council have welcomed us into their family of affiliated groups and so we hold in trust the position of Australian Chapter of the Children's Rights Council (CRC). Lionel was instrumental in paving the way. He made this possible through his integrity and by honouring our new found friends, just like he treated all of us, with respect for our person and our innate dignity. I have spoken with the SPCA Executive who fully endorse my comments about Lionel and send their condolences to his children, family and friends and everyone affected by his passing. In my discussions with the West Australian newspaper today, I was invited to send information about Lionel's life for the paper to print an obituary, sometime next week. There has been much outpouring of grief and admiration for Lionel already but I respectfully invite you to forward to me and the list anything else of relevance to Lionel's story that I can in turn forward to the West Australian for consideration for publishing. Thank you for being Lionel's friends. He took no one for granted. He would have loved to read your kind words and sentiments of love, admiration and longing. I think he will fill heaven with his boundless personality. Yours Sincerely, Edward Dabrowski Federal Director Shared Parenting Council of Australia

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Wayne Butler said

I came to know Lionel some four years ago in 2001 ... I was an enthusiastic supporter of the need for urgent Law reforms around separation and parenting. Thinking we would have this business of the injustice of family law wrapped up in a few months I set about changing the world, saw the light and joined the SPCA as a young bloke in short pants and of course joined Lionel's group OzyDads. It was timely that I met Lionel, initially by phone, because I found that the changes needed to the Family Law Act were not just a six- week job. They were humongous and they were vast. Often late on a Sunday Eastern time, Lionel would call to discuss an issue of the previous week or what may transpire in the coming weeks and months to move a step closer to some serious and real change for family law in Australia. Some of these calls were timely as after many months, which had I known then, turned into years, of trips to Canberra, MP meetings, attendances at HORISP hearings, attendances at the AG's offices, attendances at courts in Parramatta and Sydney and Newcastle along with numerous extensive written submissions. You could rely on Lionel to lift your spirits with some quip or yarn and I say that Lionel was an inspiration to us all. My own feelings are of sadness not just for Lionel passing , but for his passing at a time that we are so close to seeing some real serious results to the years of campaigning. I believe that in the near future the results will speak for themselves. It saddens me greatly that he will not be with us to celebrate the work gone by. I will be thinking of Lionel on Saturday and many other days to come. He will live on in my world and my wonderfull son will come to hear about Lionel the great and his deeds, at a time when he is old enough to understand the evil that some perpetrate on others through the withholding of contact from a parent. I believe there are some who dwell on this planet and do not participate or contribute anything in the world around us. You see them at the office and in the pubs all the time, The knockers , the wingers, the pessimists teh soothsayesr of doom and gloom. Yes there are many who exist on this world and contribute little. There are great men that do deeds in this world and give something. Then there are those who are the greatest of all and give everything. This was Lionel to the end. Our most beloved and dearly missed friend Lionel will stand along side those in history who were the pioneers and the instigators of change in the dawn of the most exciting reforms in the history of the Family Law reform movement on the planet. Lionel is the greatest of all. His sacrifice is an inspiration to us to carry on. It has been our privilege in the SPCA Council to be with Lionel to the very end and my personal privilege to have shared a day with Lionel in parliament house in June 2005. Lionel will never be forgotten, as his legacy will live on in the fruits of those reforms yet to come. Wayne Butler Executive Secretary Shared Parenting Council of Australia

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Lionel picking up his award from Warwick Marsh of the Fatherhood Foundation at the 21 June 2005 Fatherlessness Conference held at Parliament House Canberra.

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Shared Parenting Council of Australia 2003
The Shared Parenting Council of Australia
PO Box 2027, Bunbury WA 6231
secretariat@spca.org.au