He led a full life
Three months on since his demise it is still with a very heavy heart that I pen these words about my dear Papa, Helmut Hendrichs, who, following a short battle with cancer, passed away peacefully on April 15 with my mother beside him.
Papa was born in Nordkirchen, Germany as the only child to his mother Paula and father Dr.Franz Hendrichs, a former mayor of Selm Bork who also served in the German army in WW1. Following his higher studies in Muenster University, he started his early career in journalism, writing for the Westfaelischen Nachrichten newspaper.
He was an explorer at heart and would fondly reminisce tales of his travels and road trip from Germany to Afghanistan in a caravan. Fuelled by the adventures of his idol, the famous Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, it was this thirst for exploring and travel that brought him to Sri Lanka in 1980. However, what made him make Sri Lanka his home was love. His love for the country and the love of his life – my mother Iresha Hendrichs (nee Jayawardena).
After much convincing by him, he was given her hand in marriage which they celebrated with a beautiful wedding at the Mount Lavinia Hotel. Together they started their life in their plantation in Matugama. With his new experiences on the plantation, fluent Sinhala language skills and passion for reading, he soon became an expert planter. He was accepted into the planting community and was a regular at the events of the old Tebuwana planters club. To his staff he was their ‘ Sudhu Mahathaya’ who they respected and loved.
If you ever met Papa as a stranger, he was someone who you would never forget. He was friendly and could strike up a conversation with anyone. He was able to talk about anything with anyone as his general knowledge was incredible fuelled by his love of reading. We used to joke that he was like a walking encyclopaedia. Even though he touched many people, he had a few friends whom he held very close to his heart. He would call them frequently and thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with them. Papa was known to be very direct and honest. What you saw was what you got.
He enjoyed his food, specially being spoilt by the excellent dishes made by the chefs at his self-acclaimed ‘second home’ the Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya. Spending a lot of time in Nuwara Eliya he was usually found sitting by the fireplace at the Hill Club or enjoying the views of the green with a tea in hand at the Golf Club. Here he also indulged in his passion for horses, which he passed on to me, and was respected within the horse racing community as a judge of the Royal Turf Club. Papa was a keen member of the German charity organisation ‘Die Hilfebrueke’ and as a part of it he was a familiar face at the International Christmas Bazaar every year. When in Colombo, he spent most of his time in the Colombo Swimming Club, where he was a member for over 25 years.
As a husband, he was an honest partner to my Ammi and loved her very deeply. As a father, he gave me everything I could have ever asked for. His flow of advice and knowledge was constant. He would not hesitate to tell me off, but I knew that this was with the best intentions and unconditional love. As a father-in-law he trusted my husband Jehan to make the right decisions and look after his precious family. As a grandfather, or Opa in German, he was proud of his grandchildren and enjoyed their company.
As Papa was an only child living in his adopted country Sri Lanka, he considered Ammi’s family as his family. He was very proud of being part of the Jayawardena family.
We miss him very much but take comfort in the fact that he led a life full of enjoyment, love and great friendships. We spent a lot of the last 12 months together as a family and those memories will be cherished forever.
Thank you, Papa, for everything. We love you very much. You will be in our hearts forever.