Wolfi lived and loved life to the full
Obituary: Wolfi Kroner January 12, 1948 to March 9, 2021
On March 9 Wolfi Kroner of Whiting Bay died; I’m not going to say he passed on, passed over or took eternal rest.
Using euphemisms where Wolfi was concerned seems totally inappropriate.
Wolfi said it as it was and lived it as it was.
There was no greater fun than watching new customers to the Trafalgar restaurant ask a table of regulars: ‘Does that man always talk and act like that?’ ‘Oh don’t worry, that’s just Wolfi’ would come the reply, and a year down the line those same shocked newcomers would be the ones saying to the latest group of the uninitiated: ‘Oh don’t worry, that’s just Wolfi.’
Passion
I don’t believe that great characters are simply eccentrics, they are people with real passion; a passion that can vary dramatically depending on the company, the circumstance and the situation but nonetheless it’s always there, whether restrained or unleashed.
When Wolfi delivered a finely cooked steak, it was a great steak, because it had to be and at the end of the evening when he sat with some of his regular customers – and there were many – he would often share his love of fine wine by bringing to the table a bottle of one of his knowledgeable recommendations; although the guests usually drank the lion’s share Wolfi was always careful to absorb half the cost himself – there was no contradiction in running a successful business and having a generosity of spirit.
And the passion never waned. The soft twinkling smile in his eyes as he walked with Gege, Markus and his grandchildren along the village, belied the fact that hours earlier this man had threatened to beat the living daylights out of his five iron, which he held to be totally responsible for the poor shot he had just played.
Passionate people like Wolfi are what makes it all worth while; the unpredictability, the fierce love for family and friends, and the dogged loyalty that never wavered. Borrowing the famous phrase from The Shawshank Redemption: ‘Get busy living or get busy dying’.
Wolfi Kroner was always busy living.