That was how just on 1000 people who attended the funeral service on Monday, January 22 at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Springwood, remember Tony Brown, of Faulconbridge.

Tony died in St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Sydney on Sunday night, June 14, after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

He had represented the third ward (in those days Linden to Warrimoo) on Blue Mountains City Council from 1981-91, always working hard for the residents he represented.

In fact, the owners of shops on the southern side of the highway at Faulconbridge can thank him that their shops are still there. Under plans before the council of the day they could have been bulldozed. Tony, with the help of other ward councillors, managed to convince the council that the traffic conditions that prevail there today would work. And they did.

But it was his generosity that Tony Brown will most be remembered for. He would always do a good deal for local organisations that he thought were doing worthwhile things in the community.

Federal Member for Macquarie Bob Debus said last week that he had never met a more generous person and he reckoned there would be organisations across the Mountains that would say the same thing. “He was honest and true and we will miss him a great deal.”

Former mayor of Blue Mountains City Council, Jim Angel said Tony was “a true blue icon of this community and one of our finest citizens”.

Father James O’Meara, who was parish priest at St Thomas’ for 10 years in the 70s and 80s, came back to conduct the funeral service.

He remembered Tony for many humourous times. He was a hard-working family man who had earned the respect of everyone he had contact with.

Tony attended the Springwood Catholic primary school and St Bernard’s High School at Katoomba.

He worked at Valley Heights Loco Depot before operating a sandstone quarry and landscaping business. He then ventured into heavy machinery with a successful landclearing business.