Storyteller loved motors, TOMNET
JOHN Mervin McCaffrey, known to all as Jack, was born on May 19, 1919, in Nambour, the second son of Joseph Patrick and Mabel Florence McCaffrey.
The McCaffrey family was originally from England and moved to Toowoomba in 1923. Jack lived with the family in Clifton where he finished school at 13 years old.
After a brief job on a farm, Jack started a mechanical apprenticeship with Clifton Motors in October 1933.
In 1937, Clifton Motors built a room at the back of the garage and Jack was billeted there for the RACQ and to deal with problems.
The Clifton area is mostly black soil roads and Jack was often called out to someone who was bogged. Jack was on stand-by for the doctor during wet conditions.
The garage had a single-seater Overland car only for the doctor and it was equipped
‘‘ JACK WILL BE REMEMBERED BY MANY AS A KIND AND CARING GENTLEMAN, A VERY SOCIAL PERSON LOVING NOTHING MORE THAN A CHAT AND A CUP OF TEA.
with chains and a shovel and Jack would do trips with the doctor to ensure he got to his patients.
Jack stayed at Clifton Motors until he joined the Australian Army in 1941. Seven friends from Clifton joined up together.
Being a tradesman, Jack could have joined up as a sergeant but he wanted to stick with his mates, so he ended up in the infantry in the 2nd/15th Battalion.
He did his training at Redbank then went to Sydney to board the ship for Egypt. There were 20,000 men in the 9th Division of the Australian Imperial Forces. Jack served his country with honour in the Middle East, New Guinea and in Borneo.
It was during his time at Clifton Motors he started working on Case tractors. This connection with Case machinery lasted throughout his working life and he enjoyed every day of it. He worked for Case Queensland Distributors after the war.
Jack married Muriel Rickert in Clifton on September 28, 1946, after the war ended and honeymooned at Magnetic Island.
They were married for 71 years and lived in several places after they married but settled in Toowoomba in 1961 with their two daughters, Sharon and Vicki.
After Jack retired from the J I Case in 1982, he spent a lot of his time playing golf at the Middle Ridge Golf Club where he was a member for 57 years – and a life member of the Downs and District Veteran Golfers Association for 27 years and their patron from 2008-2017.
He joined TOMNET in 2009 where he was granted life membership in 2017. He valued the friendships and social opportunities he gained through this organisation.
He loved nothing more than sitting around chatting with other members over a cup of tea.
His love of motors lasted his lifetime and, until a year ago, he was still working on his Morris Minor, fine-tuning it to improve its performance.
The light green Morri was often seen outside the golf club and TOMNET. It was very recognisable.
Jack will be remembered by many as a kind and caring gentleman, a very social person loving nothing more than a chat and a cup of tea. One of Jack’s best characteristics was his sense of humour, particularly his ability to laugh at his own mishaps and retelling funny stories to family and friends.
He was a great story-teller with exceptional attention to detail like dates, place names and people.
Jack died in Toowoomba on March 21 at 98 years old and is survived by his wife Muriel, his daughters Sharon and Vicki, grandchildren Kelly, Emerson and Evangelina and greatgrandson Isaac.