Gary Kenworthy
I have known Gary Kenworthy for 27 years.
Gary was the best man at my wedding and I was the best man for his second marriage to Anne.
To me, Gary was my idea of an ideal family man, a man who wanted to do his best for and actually did his best to be a loving husband and a good Father.
His family meant more to him that his career. I believe he defined himself as a Husband and Father first, He certainly valued his family more than anything else in the conversations we have had over the years.
I know that Gary loved his children above all else and he leaves them far too early.
I was honoured when he asked me to be his best man at his wedding with Anne.
He has clearly died far too young and leaves behind a wife, and family that he would have done anything for.
I remember joking with Gary about Nursing Homes and still playing ancients when we were older.
* Gary to me was the model family man and that is how I will remember him.
***
Gary and the Parramatta Wargames Club later to be called the Western Suburbs Games Society (WSGS)
Gary joined Parramatta Wargames Club around 1980.
I believe I was his opponent in his first ancient's game.
Basically 1980 was the beginning of Gary's long endeavour to keep Parramatta Wargames club a going concern.
Gary believed that the Western Suburbs Games Society should be put on a footing that would last for generations and that the club would create a history of its own in serving the community. Gary had a real sense of the value for history.
In 1982 Gary became the 4th club President of Parramatta Wargames club. Around about time he renamed the club newsletter and called it the Acta Diurna. For many years Gary and I regularly put out a newsletter every month, which we circulated at shops to promote the club.
In 1983 St Andrew's Church (concerned about D&D being a possible avenue for devil worship) asked for the Parramatta Wargames club to leave after being there for 9 years.
The club could have folded then but Gary was responsible for moving the club from Parramatta to a Hall at Seven Hills. While at Seven Hills the club membership peaked for the first time at on or around 100 members. WSGS has achieved this twice once under Gary's leadership and later with Gary's active support while I was president.
In 1983 I had temporarily left the hobby to do my High School Certificate. My first ancient's game back in the hobby was with Gary in his garage where he killed Alexander the Great in round 2. Gary went on to beat me in ancients for many more years.
Around 1984 Gary asked me to update the club constitution.
At some point in the 1980's the Seven Hill's Hall was torn down. The club moved to a Hall in Villawood and membership dropped to the low 20's.
During this time in Villawood, we all chipped in and put extra money into the club to keep going. I believe Gary organized our first club Tourney with trophies while we were at Villawood. Gary retired from the club presidency in 1988.
I think the club was at Villawood for 12 months to 2 years but I'm not sure, anymore.
In the late 1980's we moved to the Blacktown Pigeon club Hall and the club started growing again. Later the club moved to the Blacktown Masonic Hall. Also while at Blacktown Gary asked me to write up the club committee position descriptions.
The WSGS Tourney as it was originally called grew from strength to strength in Blacktown.(Gary gave it the new name of Leviathan)
Gary was a principal organizer for many years, then he handed it to me and so on. Gary later took a step back from the running of the club as did I.
Some time after the 2000 WSGS Tournament, Gary and I were asked by the club committee to come out of "retirement" and run the next Tournament in 2001. The club was broke, it could no longer afford the Blacktown Masonic Hall and membership was down to the mid 20's.
WSGS moved to the garage at the back of Michael Thai's shop "Unlimited Hobbies"
Financially this was hard times for the club and I can remember Gary and I organizing BBQs outside of the Garage despite some sitting in Michael's shop doing nothing but bad mouthing the club and our efforts.
Gary took over the overall organization of the next tournament and I organized the sponsorship etc. The first tournament was bank rolled to a large part by Gary, myself and some others with the club paying us back after the event. A large number of members and family volunteered to make the Tournament a success.
Also during this time Gary moved WSGS to Quakers Hill High School, while I fixed up our insurance for the club.
The first tournament also saw Matise Derivan start to support our hobby and Derivan MiNis came out of input from Gary and many others. Due to Matisse's support we were given the opportunity to promote our hobby at the Sydney Royal Easter Show every year. Gary volunteered and attended over a large number of years to promote our hobby to the general public.
The WSGS Leviathan Tourney/ Convention grew and it involves a huge amount of good will and hard work from a large number of people.
Gary however always remained the central organizer and in keeping with his view that the club should last for generations he documented everything that needed to be done so that others could run it when he would later step down.
Some time during the early 2000's I managed to organize an interview on ABC 702 radio. I asked Gary to come in with me to promote the hobby. One this recognized his contribution and two, I could think of no better person to be on radio talking about our hobby.
Later when I organized the Bunnings BBQs to raise funds for the club, Gary was one of the first to support this.
Also during the early 2000's, Gary and I talked about the club constitution and the need to make the club a not for profit community club so that WSGS would have the structure to ensure it would continue after Gary and I were no longer with the club. I got the model constitution from the Department of Fair Trading, made amendments and gave it to the club committee to pursue. I don't know if this was ever finalized
Over the years WSGS had received all the games from NaSGuL a club from Hornsby when it folded plus in the 1980's the club had received games from families where their children had tragically passed away. The club has been built on a lot of good will from a lot of people. Gary was the key to this good will.
Gary's commitment to WSGS was stronger than mine. I left in the first half of 2006 and Gary stayed on.
I can honesty say that the Western Suburbs Games Society would not exist today if it was not for Gary Kenworthy.
On a final note in writing this, it is not my intent in any way diminish the role of others that have been working with Gary over the last 27 odd years. People like Andrew Waterson, Phil Niven, and many others that have worked with Gary over the decades.
The above is a personal opinion that may be based on some memories that may have become distorted over time. The reason for this script is solely to highlight Gary's achievements as I recall them, chief among them his work to try and ensure that WSGS would last as a community hobby club long after he and I were no longer members.
photographs the same figure, with different cameras and equipment.
at times..saw him at Leviathan as well, never really knew him all that well, rather knew of him..first met him ages ago when I worked at the Tin soldier.. sad to hear of his going..