Quiet achiever to be missed

Melbourne’s LGBTI community lost a tireless volunteer last week with the death of Bill Jeffrey (William Forbes Jeffrey).

The self-confessed theatre queen died after suffering a degenerative illness. He was 65.

Jeffrey was a life member of Melbourne LGBTI radio station JOY94.9 and a 22-year volunteer and the longest serving board member of the ALSO Foundation.

Fellow JOY life member and station public officer Nick Bassett told the Star Observer Jeffrey was a capable on-air presenter.

“Bill was quietly spoken and talked in what was called a stage whisper,” Bassett said. “Panel operators had trouble squeezing enough volume out of his mic when he was on air.”

Always willing to lend a helping hand at a community event, Bassett said Jeffrey showed great dedication to supporting the community.

“Bill could always be seen helping with bumping in, serving on the stalls or packing up afterwards at events like Midsumma and Pride March,” he said. “He would help out at the coat room at dance parties and generally ensure that other people had a better time than he did.

“In this way, we were made aware of his consideration for others.”

Jeffrey’s great passion for the stage and screen will also be fondly remembered.

“His knowledge of the show scene was encyclopedic and he could be seen at most opening nights for shows, big and small, here in Melbourne,” Bassett said.

ALSO board members Robert Morris, Jim Wootton, Daniel Perkins, Wayne Elliot and Eva Orr paid tribute to Jeffrey’s contribution to the community.

“His wisdom and down to earth commonsense often pointed to a solution when fellow board members were at an impasse,” members said in a statement.

In earlier days, Jeffrey was a housekeeper for actor Frank Thring, and later worked as a stage manager in Melbourne’s theatre scene.

Jeffrey had a superlative command of the English language and, for a time, worked as a proofreader and subeditor at The Age.

Allan Smales met Jeffrey in 1994 at a meeting calling for a Victorian marching group to go to Sydney to enter the Mardi Gras Parade.

Jeffrey was short of a co-host on his JOY radio prgram that week and Smales stepped in. The pair presented radio show Newsbeat that year, and started magazine program Pot Pourri which was broadcast from 1995 – 1999.
Smales said he’ll remember Jeffrey’s kindness most.

“On my very first day on air he could tell when we were about to go on that I’d suddenly got a little bit nervous,” Smales told the Star Observer. “I can remember him putting his hand on my knee to sort of steady me and to say, ‘Are you okay?’

“I was okay, but he was that sort of person, he’d give you encouragement and settle you down if you were nervous.”

* Additional information was from JOY membership officer Chris Furneaux.

The funeral service for Bill Jeffrey will be held at the chapel at Bunurong Memorial Park, Frankston Dandenong Rd, Bangholme on Thursday March 1 at 12.30pm.

This service is open to the public.