In Memoriam - Greg England

Eulogy and Message from Greg's Father

Letter from Terry England:

November 20, 2006

Regarding Greg England

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been thinking about how to write this letter for months, have written it in my mind a hundred times and realize that it may be impossible to do and achieve the desired result.  How on earth do you express in writing the value of someone else’s life?  How the loss of that person affects your own life every day, every breath, every dream, on and on.  It’s been said many times that children are not supposed to precede their parents in death.  It’s just wrong, just too hard to bear.  So here I am, trying to do the impossible, knowing that I cannot do justice to the task, and typing through the tears.

The main point of all this, I suppose, is that I truly believe that had it not been for the abrupt and unjust end to Greg’s job as a Pilot with Cathay Pacific, the end to his career and the life that he loved immensely in Hong Kong, he would still be with us today.  Greg was completely involved in his career and in the life that rushed around him in Hong Kong.  He spoke the language so well that strangers thought he was born there.  He had many friends that were indeed born there.  He was actively involved with all aspects of life in HK, and his job was the focal point of it all.   He also loved sports, and was extremely fit and active always.  And, like his father, he loved to fly! Greg had a zest for life that knew no bounds!  He was up and running before he was even 1 year old and just never stopped!  Until that day.  God only knows what happened.  One thing I am very sure of is that he did not want to die.  He was very much in love and planning on marriage and a family.

We communicated with Greg constantly, via email, messenger, telephone.  He often called me when he was out with friends, or just walking down the street, to share an idea, or a beautiful day, and crazy conversations half in Cantonese - half in English!  His loss is unbearable.  I feel him standing beside me as I write this, I see him coming around a corner, saying ‘Hi Mumsy’, I feel him hugging me.  I look at his picture, and miss him.  I look at my younger son Brad, and know that he has lost his only brother, his only sibling, and know that his life will be different, less than what it should be and that his grief is different from mine, but equally deep.  I look at my husband, and realize that we can never recover what we lost, and never share all of our pain, because it would overwhelm both of us.

Coroner’s reports and police documents explain very little to me.  All we are left with is pain and a huge question mark.  Language barriers made it even more difficult to deal with the realities of the situation, to get answers to our questions.  The police even managed to disable Greg’s computer, where he kept a daily journal, and returned to us a useless hulk.  Whatever drove Greg to his death that night, I know that he was still hoping to return to the job he loved.  I know that he was having terrible problems with stress, the stomach ulcers that resulted from it and just dealing with the uncertainty of his future.  We wanted him to come home, start again in Canada, just be here where we could help him through this, but he was steadfast in his resolve to remain in Hong Kong.  He loved life there.  He loved life.  Hong Kong had become his home.

We all live in a space just above the pain of past experiences, the losses in our lives, so that we can function and get through every new day.  It is hard to focus on the events that so devastate our lives and bring all of the emotions to the surface. 

Greg’s CD player had the last song that he listened to on it, a Marvin Gaye tune called ‘What’s going on?’.   I guess that’s what he wanted to know.  What is going on?  How can employees be treated so badly?  How can their lives be toyed with in such a fashion?  How despicable!  How unjust!  Appalling?  Yes.   Illegal?  Probably.  Immoral?  Yes, but so much more than that.  Our son only wanted to get back to work.  He just wanted a fair deal.  Greg was smart, talented, handsome and on the brink of his adult life.  He should have had everything to live for.  He was concerned about the other 49ers, the men with families to support, the ones who were worse off than he was, and he made efforts to be of help.  He was an admirable man.  Perhaps the decision makers of Cathay Pacific are not?

Sincerely,

Terry England

Greg’s Mom

Footnote:

Stephen and Terry England are still pursuing the High Court action in Hong Kong to clear Greg's name.

In Memoriam - Richard Bennett