Les Day
Background
Les was born in 1939 in the farming community of Miva, just north of Gympie, and first went to school in nearby Tiaro. In the early 1950s, the family moved to Nambour where Les won high recognition for his youthful sporting achievements and was selected to run a leg of the 1956 Olympic torch relay. He married Pomona-born Mina Green in 1963 and the couple had three children.
Les started a banking career with the Commercial Bank of Australia in Nambour straight after school, then worked in Caboolture and Brisbane branches before transferring to the bank’s offices in Victoria where he worked from 1961 to 1975. He then worked with the Queensland Police Credit Union in Brisbane from 1975 until his retirement in 1995 when he and Mina moved to Buderim.
About the man
Les was a man of integrity, held in high esteem in church and community groups, and in his workplace. He was a positive man, able to enthuse others with his ‘we-can-do-it’ attitude, one who made people feel valued.
He was a devoted family man and doting grandfather. Young family members and their friends admired his story-telling abilities, and fondly remember a fun-filled home with Les the principal joker.
Community involvement
Les was passionate about his community - a threefold affair involving his church, Rotary and the Buderim community in general.
He was seen as a ‘working Christian’ through his untiring work as an Elder with the Presbyterian Church and in support of the Uniting Church throughout his life. He was treasurer for the Buderim Uniting Church for eight and a half years and served on various committees in support of the church’s community work.
Les joined Rotary in 1976 and, over subsequent years, served on numerous committees and held various positions up to and including Assistant District Governor. For his work with Brisbane’s Mitchelton club, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow, a prestigious Rotary award recognising significant contribution, and was later awarded a Sapphire Pin, a higher honour, for his Rotary activities in Buderim. A highlight of those activities was participation in a working group helping build a school in Papua New Guinea.
Les was a board member and Treasurer of the Buderim Foundation from its inauguration in December 2003 until his death in July 2007. Foundation Chair Gary Hopkins said, ‘Les demonstrated total dedication to every task he undertook (and there were many), and a willingness to go the extra mile. He was loved and admired by all within the Foundation.’
Donor: Family and friends of Les Day
