Simple life filled with love, laughter
Man of strong faith with sense of humour
PHIL Diete was born in Gatton on May 10, 1950, to William (Bill) and May Annie Diete, nee Schafferius.
One of six children, Phil was third in line and it wasn’t until he had been delivered that it was realised another baby was to follow.
Twenty minutes later, Phil’s twin sister Jill was born.
Kay, Fay, Phil and Jill, Gail and Ian were of the generation that truly knew what it meant to do it tough - of a generation that didn’t waste.
Phil would say: “We were so poor, we couldn’t even pay attention.”
The reality was Phil’s father needed the children to work he couldn’t afford a farm hand.
Milking cows before and after school and chaffing hay were common chores.
Phil knew how to drive tractors before he went to school - as soon as he could reach the pedals.
These early years definitely defined Phil in many ways.
Together with his brother and sisters, he was instilled with old-school values and manners. He learnt what it meant to be resilient and resourceful - for in many ways all six children simply had to look after themselves.
And so when Phil finished at Lockyer District High School after Year 10, he left school on the Friday and started work the following Monday for Ivor Rosenberg.
He completed his apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery after four years, finishing with honours.
He was thankful and privileged to work for Ivor for 21 years up until October, 1986.
From then, Phil continued in the construction industry, working with his brother Ian, as Diete Builders for six years before working out on his own as Phil Diete Homes.
There was no doubting Phil’s work ethic.
It was ingrained into him from a very young age and he was fully committed to his career.
This commitment, however, was not more important to him than the commitment he had
to his wife and family.
Phil met his wife to be, Pauline Brauer at a Lutheran Youth group in Gatton.
Before too long they had started courting and at the same time, Phil became president of Lutheran Youth and Pauline the secretary.
This courtship blossomed with the help of dances, car rallies, a heavy involvement in the church, movies and after five years they got engaged.
They married on April 21, 1973, at the same Lutheran church where they had spent so much of their time together in those early years in Gatton.
Six years later, on March 29, 1979, Simon William was born and followed five years later by Rachel May on March 30, 1984.
When Rachel arrived they had already lived in Toowoomba for two years and many memories were made.
Those memories included family trips camping at Fraser Island and Double Point, time spent at church, weekend trips to parks, riding bikes and lots of time spent visiting friends and family.
In many ways it was a simple and uncomplicated life, but one filled with lots of love and laughter.
Phil was a loving and loyal husband, a devoted father, a family man with a sense of humour, a gentleman with a strong faith.
He built many homes, investment properties, offices, extensions, small jobs - so often working Saturdays and Sundays.
The main reason for this was a reflection of how seriously he took his responsibility as a husband and father to ensure that his family was always provided for.
On many, many occasions he was helping others.
He loved the workings of farming and the outdoors.
He loved tinkering in the shed - or anyone’s shed.
He fixed things, he knew he could get things to work and the creative manner in which he fixed these things was sometimes impressive - a piece would be used to finish a project that might have been used elsewhere 10 or 20 years ago.
He loved cars - anything with an engine.
He was inventive - and there was nothing he couldn’t do with a bobcat.
Reversing the caravan with a truck was nothing, but there wasn’t enough room to use the truck for this tight manoeuvre at home, so what did he use? His bobcat .... and when has anyone ever seen a bobcat with a tow bar?
Yes, he made that too. He welded a device that fitted perfectly to the bobcat to the caravan and with the assistance of Pauline’s astute hand signals, he’d fit this huge monstrosity of a caravan with a dinky bobcat in comparison, not being able to see anything at all and fitting it in the narrowest of margins.
He loved his country music and was a big John Laws fan.
He was a thinker and when he was feeling the heat there was one place you’d be able to find him - in the shed.
Phi loved a game of golf who wouldn’t if they’d holed two holes in one in their lifetime and also had the opportunity to play on the longest golf course in the world from Ceduna to Kalgoorlie.
To be correct, one of these holes in one did land on the wrong green. But you’ve gotta claim it, don’t you?
Some things he did on the work site were impressive. Where others would take a shortcut, he’d do the job properly.
He was innovative. He was a hard worker and truly professional with an eye for detail that resulted in absolute quality.
He liked quality craftsmanship, where things were made properly, where things were made to last.
But one thing that separated Phil from many perhaps was the fact that although he was fully aware of how good he was as a builder, he didn’t flaunt it.
He was a humble man. He was interested in other people and was always up for a yarn.
He loved his children, was very generous, but firm.
But when it came to the crunch there was nothing that he wouldn’t do for them.
In his later life when not doing small jobs, Phil and Pauline spent a lot of time travelling around the country in their caravan.
Being a part of the Downs Wanderers Caravan Club meant a lot to Phil.
He landed the president’s job for six years until two years ago and enjoyed many, many trips.
Pauline and Phil were married for 44 years.
It was a very strong marriage and they complemented each other so well.
And like the love that he had for his wife, there was no doubting the love that he had for his children and grandchildren.
For all the reasons mentioned why Phil was loved and respected so much, these last two years somehow amplified what his family already knew.
Phil had Motor Neurone Disease.
But such was the strength of his faith in something beyond all of this, there was a very personal peace throughout his journey.
That’s not to say he wasn’t going to take it on without one hell of a fight. And how he fought.
Phil is survived by his loving wife Pauline, children Simon and Shauni, Rachel and Paul and grandchildren Bianca, Cooper, Jacob, Libby, Ben and Pippa.