Eulogy

Bill was born Wolfgang Wilhelm Konrad Ruhland in the Mainz Hospital on 2nd May 1953 to Gertrud ,‘Trudy’ and Hermann Ruhland.

The family Lived in Nauheim in the house Hermann built. Bills very much loved, Maternal Oma and Opa Böhm lived upstairs. He would sometimes refuse his dinner as he had already eaten upstairs until a plan was devised for Oma to only offer him something he didn’t like.

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Bill immigrated to Australia on the Castile Felice in 1960 with his parents and three older sisters AnneMarie, Christa and Inge. After a short time in Bonegilla they settled in south Oakleigh, and Frank was born in December followed by Liane in 1962.

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In 1961 Hermann moved the family to a farm he rented in Panton Hill, and part of their home was an old Tram. Some years ago Bill and Sue found the old place and the current owners allowed them to have a good look around, the tram was still there. In Jan 1962 a bushfire raged through, and the Gertrude and the children had to shelter in a dam while Hermann and the men protected the home. Gertrud and Hermann later separated when they were living in Avonsleigh, before reconciling in 1967 and the family moved to Montmorency. From 1964 to 1967 Gertrud and the children lived in Caulfield where Bill finished his primary Schooling. He began High School at Caulfield Tech. He later attended Watsonia Tech, he was unhappy at this school where there was a teacher with strong anti German views, and Bill left school at 15 to work with Hermann and learn the trade of tiling. Over the next decade he also worked in a brush factory, building rock retaining walls, and tiling on and off for his father. His brother-in-law Horst (Ann’s husband) had swimming pool and Hot Tub businesses and Bill worked steel-fixing swimming pools and later building Cedar Hot Tubs. In about 1977 he worked on the construction of the Melbourne underground Railway loop. Bill loved fishing, and in 1978 he worked on a tuna fishing boat at Lakes Entrance. He loved pole fishing and the camaraderie of the crew, although until he perfected the technique one of his crew mates resorted to a helmet as Bill was continually collecting his head with the tuna. He was very disappointed when the season ended early due to a family emergency for the captain and they were all offloaded at Eden.

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In 1976, Bill’s son, Shannon was born 1st June in Melbourne. Shannon and his mother moved to Sydney when he was a toddler, and it was not until 1984 that he came to live with Bill and Sue and completed their family.

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Bill met Susan in late 1979 and they married in 1980 in south Yarra Melbourne. When Bill and Sue lived in Caulfield after they married, he was contracted as a tiler for Spaceline Homes, in early 1982 they moved to Mt gambier, this was fortunate timing as Spaceline homes folded some months later, leaving many contractors unpaid. In mt gambier He Worked for the slate and fireside shop Installing wood burning heaters until he established his reputation as a tiler. Once the quality of his work was known he was never idle.

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Peta arrived in October 1982, and his first task was to buy her a German teddy, which she cherishes to this day. He was a loving dad, and spent many hours with her as a colicky baby, pacing the floor. As a young girl she was with her father on building sites and he passed on many practical skills to her.

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He was a skilled builder, mastering concreting and other trades, and built his and Sue’s first home in Banksia street Mt Gambier. Good Friendships were made in Mount gambier and continued after the move to Adelaide. Welcome visitors from Mt g were common in Adelaide and Pasadena.

Bill gave up smoking after 20 years and took up cycling to get fit, then got heavily involved in the local mt gambier bike club. This came to a crashing end when he broke his collar bone in two places while racing, Sue had to help grout an unfinished job on her day off from work, and the atmosphere was very frosty when he criticised her efforts.

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In 1984 Hermann and his sister Mia reconciled at a funeral for their nephew Günther Ruhland, Mia and Hermann had fallen out sometime after she too had migrated to Australia, she had initially been living on the same property with Hermann and Trudy at Panton Hill and Avonsleigh, and had not spoken for nearly 20 years. When he found that Tante Mia was in the same area near Mt Gambier he met up with her and they became quite close over the ensuing years. He cared for her, especially when she became more frail, visiting her every evening to help her with her evening meal. She briefly moved in with Bill and Sue before she passed away in 1997.

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Bill made many friends wherever he went, and was close to his family and his in-laws,

regularly dropping in to see Connie, Sues mother during their time in Mt Gambier. 

Bill and Sue moved to Adelaide in 2002 - he spent a year renovating the cottage that they

then lived in for the following 16 years.

In 2009 he began a bakery business at Mylor with Shannon, for years he would get up at 2am

or earlier to drive to Mylor, pack bread and deliver it. On his rounds he met Vyktoria, and thought she and Shannon would get on well, he was so right about that. Shannon and Vyktoria,

make a great pair. In 2013 Bill became a grandfather, or Opi to Seph.

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In 2014 an incidental finding marked the beginning of a ten year journey with liver Cancer. As he was so well when it was discovered it was a shock, and after a few years of various treatments and surgeries to remove the tumour, he had a successful liver transplant. The doctors were convinced it was a successful cure, sadly a few years later tiny lesions in his lungs were found to be metastasis, but he kept in quite good health until 2023. In 2022 he had a knee replacement, recovering in remarkably good time. By 2023 the tumours were growing and spreading, The past 9 months were very difficult, he underwent a number of radiotherapy sessions to try and manage the pain, but there were no other treatments available. He was strong and stubborn, and these traits were evident through his years of dealing with his injuries and illnesses.

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When first diagnosed Sue and Bill decided he should retire from the bakery, and over the next few years, when treatments allowed, they took many caravan trips. Not ones to rough it anymore though, they made sure they had all mod cons. They finally had a return visit to Perth and visited Sues sister Dianne and husband Norm, crossing the Nullarbor in leisurely style. Norm and Bill had become close friends over the years, and Norm and Dianne made many welcome trips to Adelaide and Pasadena. Sues other sisters Judith, Pauline and Jane and their families have all been understanding and supportive, visiting when they can, and touching base with messages.

COVID made it difficult to visit and have visits from Bills family in Melb. We were so glad Bills family and siblings Anne, Inge, Frank and Liane were able to visit him over the past year, although touched with sadness, the time spent was precious.

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After 3 years of German paperwork, Bill finally got his passport in 2018 and Sue and Bill immediately planned a trip to Germany in 2019. A wonderful time, meeting cousins he had never met, and others he’d not seen since he was 6 years old. A special time with cousin Lydia, in Gross Zimmern who had also met Peta when she was an exchange student.

Lena, who was a German exchange student paired with Peta, met us in cologne and we spent a few days in Bonn with her, her husband Levi and daughter Elly - Bill enjoyed being a temporary Opa to Elly.

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After COVID, tiring of the increased activity in the city, they moved to Pasadena, a house which also required some renovations… Although he pretended to be annoyed to do more renovations he actually was quite pleased to put his mark of quality on the place. he enjoyed the trees and the bird life , sitting on the balcony in the evenings.

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Wherever he lived, He very soon befriended the neighbourhood, always happy to chat and help people. His friendships crossed all ages, and he loved being a ‘stand in’ Grandfather for Daniel and Annelies Nelson’s sons, when their grandparents were not nearby. Friends from Mt Gambier would visit in Adelaide, and they would often cross paths on their caravanning trips.

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Bill loved animals especially dogs - After each one he swore he would never get another one from the heartbreak. But this was always short lived. There was only about a year that he didn’t have a dog, and at every caravan park he would soon befriend any resident dog. He had a habit of rescuing birds, he wouldn’t let any animal suffer, one baby featherless wattlebird in particular he nurtured to adulthood, and months after it was released it would land on his shoulder whilst he was walking the dogs. And stick its tongue in his ear.

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When thinking of Bill, we would like to reflect on his kindness and his generosity, a wonderful husband, father, brother and friend.