JENKINS, Andrew “A J” Charles

Dad,

You were never one to speak about your feelings or say, “I love you.” But we knew.

We knew in the actions.
We knew in the gestures.

Whether it was picking up the phone when we called — no matter the time, or whether you were working or playing golf — you always picked up.

You always showed up.

You showed up.

You were the life of the party, usually with a sauce bottle in your hand.

You’d give the shirt off your back if you thought it would help someone.

That was you.

I’ll miss you.

I’ll miss your voice.

I’ll miss you popping in for a cuppa, and then me popping in for one back.

I’ll miss watching you with Harvey, and seeing how soft you were with him.

And he’ll miss you too.

He loves his Poppy.

I’ll remember you when I look at Matt and watch his mannerisms — the little things he does that remind me so much of you.

I’ll remember you when I see the little freckles sprinkled across Harvey’s face, and I’ll always tell him they came from you.

I know you were proud of us all.

And I’ll live my life proud to stand in your legacy.

I don’t know if I’ll ever live up to the man you were, but I’ll always strive to make you proud.

My heart is so sad, and it’s devastating to have lost you so soon.

I needed more time.

More time to spend with you in the boat.

More time for you to teach me things.

More time for you to teach Harvey things.

You needed more time too.

More time to watch us all grow older.

More time to watch Harvey grow up.

I’m so sorry this has happened to you in such a devastating way.

I have no words to describe how heartbroken we all are.

But I hope, wherever you are, you know how loved you were.

And I hope you know how much you meant to every person whose life you touched.

I’ll be seeing you.

And when I do, make sure you’ve saved me a seat wherever you are.

I love you, Dad.

And I always will.

Dropping a line in will never be the same again Andy. Making time for everything and caring for everyone, are just a few of your amazing talents. Deepest condolences to family, friends and colleagues.

We will miss you always uncle AJ and ill always cherish the memories I have of us camping, riding dirtbikes and our big trip up to Cape York sharing driving duties and watching you try to catch a fish chest deep in croc infested waters, you always knew how to get a laugh out of us and always dropped everything the second someone needed a hand

Rest easy, AJ — “Jerka”.

We shared plenty of good times over the years — fishing, camping, dirt bikes and plenty of laughs along the way. If something was broken, you could pretty much guarantee AJ would be there trying to fix it.

You loved your golf, your fishing and being outdoors, so I reckon you’ve got the perfect spot now. Hopefully there’s no wind up there, plenty of fish biting, and every day can be a golf day or a fishing day.

And knowing you, that sauce bottle of yours is probably still going — although I reckon you’ve finally found a place where it’ll never run empty. 🥃

You were a good mate, AJ, and you’ll be bloody missed. Thanks for all the good times, the laughs and the memories.

Rest easy, Jerka. No wind, plenty of fish, straight drives and an endless sauce bottle. Until we meet again, mate.

Cousin Andy. Well what can I say, we didn’t see each other all that often, but you were always the same up for laugh and chat. You will be missed because those family functions were always better when you were there..Hopefully you have the best fishing spots sorted and we can chat about the one that got away. Hope to see you again one cousin. From Shane Joanne and Saxon Hume

Andrew, we shared 25 years of our lives together, i was 19 and you were 20. We grew up together, learning about life. We had our ups and downs, our good times and bad. We brought into the world the most amazing and beautiful 3 children, Lisa Amy and Matthew. We have watched them grow and develop into the most successful and amazing adults that we could have hoped for. Our awesome and beautiful grandson Harvey will miss you terribly and will never understand what happened to his poppy. My thoughts are with your mum and dad, Barb and Brian who have lost a son far too soon. There are many fish left in the sea for you to catch, gone far too soon, RIP my friend AJ

Dear Dad,
I cannot believe that you’re no longer here with us. It still doesn’t really feel real.

This wasn’t meant to happen – it wasn’t your time. I am not prepared for this goodbye.

I know that, from the outside, other people may have struggled to understand our relationship. That’s okay. Our relationship worked for us, and we did our best ❤️‍🩹

I’m sorry that I was never the daughter that wanted to go out on the boat fishing, camping or golfing. That was just never really me. But now, I’m finding myself wishing I had taken more of those opportunities and had more of that time with you.

Thank you for always helping me whenever I needed it, or whenever I asked for it. No matter what was going on, you always seemed to find a way to make something work. Sometimes I’m not even sure how you made it work, but somehow you always did. You could be so creative when it came to fixing something, building something, or figuring out a solution — usually with whatever you had lying around. And if something went wrong? Well… she’ll be right.

I think that’s something I’ll always carry with me when I think of you. That ability to somehow make things work, to find a way through, and to believe that even when things weren’t perfect, she’ll be right.
I’m not sure how we move forward from here, but I know that I will carry you with me for the rest of my life. In my memories, in the stories we tell, and in the parts of me that you helped shape (eBay purchase addictions).

I will miss you in ways I probably don’t even understand yet. I will miss your voice, your laugh, the little things you did, and all the moments that I once took for granted but would now give anything to have back.

I don’t know where you are now, or what comes next. But wherever you are, Dad, I just hope you’re having bcfing fun 🎣

Love from Lisa

AJ
I can’t describe how devastating the news of your passing has left us ,its like ocean waves, you think there’s no more sadness then it hits you, you were my husband Brian’s brother and best mate , an uncle and friend to my boys and over the years you and l formed a relationship based on enjoying each other’s company and the odd argument around a fire, l did that because l realised how much you liked it!
My enduring memories are your generosity with your time, skills and desire to simply fix what was wrong ,so people could be happy, you always just showed up , there is a huge gap in our lives, we miss you. We hope you knew how treasured you were to us all.
I hope the fishing is good up there AJ,
The family is sticking together and we will make sure your amazing family is supported, the way you always have,
Your sister in-law
Michelle Jenkins

Remembering great times of the cousins getting together growing up. Andy had the wonderful Jenkins trait of a cheeky smile and a sparkle in his eyes, ready to get into mischief. Gone too soon. Sending love and thoughts to Uncle Brian, Aunty Barb and all the family, especially Andy’s kids and their families ❤️‍🩹 Linda & John

Renee, sorry for your loss. Thinking of you. Mick n Lisa Tyas

Dear Lisa, Amy & Matt,
I am very sad to hear of Andrew’s passing. May the memories of good times you shared stay close to your heart and give you reason to smile. I hope you Dad is resting peacefully, fishing in his favourite place. Love to you all 🤍🤍🤍
From Donna

Condolences to Barb , Brian and family, you lived next door to Jim and l for 11 years, then 30 years later l seen you every week at the Golf Club, you always had a smile on your face and akways a friendly hello ladies. We will all miss you down at the Golf Club . Hit them straight and hit them long Andrew 🙏🙏🙏

You’re my bread when I’m hungry
You’re my shelter from troubled storms
You’re my anchor in lives ocean
But most of all you’re my best friend

When I need hope and inspiration
You’re always strong when I’m tired and weak
I could search this whole word over
You’d still be everything that I need

I will miss these songs we listened to, you’re cheeky sparkle and sincere unapologetic views.
Keep riding those two wheelers, practicing those golf swings and mostly enjoy those sunsets from that ocean in the sky.

Shellxxx Maddi and Tarsh

Our deepest sympathy is with you all at this difficult time.
You are in our thoughts Barb, Brian, Dwayne, Karen, Renee and families, and Andrew’s family.

We were privileged to play golf with Andrew at CMGC.
He was such a gentleman and always wearing a cheeky smile.
Love from Sue and Craig Gosling

Andrew was loved and adored by his Mum, Dad and entire family.

We will miss his frankness, his sense of humour, and those after-work call-ins for a cuppa or a drink. Those simple moments together are memories we will treasure always.

Andrew loved his golf and fishing, and his competitive nature certainly showed through in his golf. He progressed quickly to become a low-handicap golfer, always enjoying the challenge and striving to do his best.

He had an incredible ability to solve almost any problem and could fix just about anything — from a pencil sharpener to rebuilding a motor. If something was broken, Andrew would find a way to fix it.

And, of course, there was one thing Mum could always count on: her three kisses a year from Andrew — one on her birthday, one on Mother’s Day, and one at Christmas. Three kisses was his limit, but she treasured every one of them.

Andrew, you will be deeply missed and forever loved.

We will miss you always.

Mum & Dad ❤️

Our condolences to all the Jenkins family, our thoughts are with you all at this sad time 🙏

I’m struggling to put into a few words what over forty years of friendship means. From around the age of 13 or 14 mucking around at high school we become mates and have been since, Our late teens into early twenties was a bit of an adventure, you coming home every weekend to work on your cars or bikes and having a few drinks on the Friday and Saturday nights….good times!

To then become your brother in law and come into such an awesome family was such a privilege. Working together at the mill for a while and the motorbike trips with you and our other work mates was something I’ll never forget.

Family get togethers just won’t be the same without you there.

I’ll miss you mate. Rest easy brother

Geoff

We came together as workmates you grew on me our motorbike trips camping golfing and then fishing im lost for words.AJ your abilities were something Mr fixit a do anything guy always prepared to give you rubbed off on people more than you realised. That come on have a go attitude, our talks on all things family work life I have not forgotten and especially your frankness but best of all that cheeky grin and laugh you will always be CHAD to Matt and I RIP. our sincere condolences to all the family .
Damian and Maree and Matt

Harvey is going to miss his Poppy, from the kinder pick ups to Postie rides in the backyard.
Hope you didn’t forget your phone and smokes like you did every time you left our house.
Forever grateful for everything you’ve done for Amy, Harvey and I.

Andrew. How we will miss you. You leave a big void in our life. You were a great son-in-law and so good to us.we had a lot of good times a lot of laughs .A lot of food and lots of drinks. You leave behind a lot of good memories. Love always Sandra and John

Our hearts go out to Barb, Brian, and the entire Jenkins family for the loss of their son. We’re thinking of you all during this difficult time.
Rest easy, AJ. ❤️

We will always miss you uncle AJ, I’ll always remember the times you picked me up off the ground after coming off my dirtbike multiple times a ride and just telling me to walk it off and that “she’ll be right mate your fine” and I’ll always live my life by that same phrase
Rest easy up there mate I’ll miss you, I hope there’s endless bourbons and plenty of fish to catch.

Blake Jenkins

AJ, you were always such a joy to be around and brought many laughs to our camping trips. I’ll always hold close the memories and stories you’ve shared by the campfire. I’m forever grateful to have had the privilege of getting to know you.

Sending my love,
Maggie Marriott ❤️

Uncle AJ I will forever cherish the last time we spoke. The time you took to let me know everything was going to be okay. I will miss our constant banter at a Jenkins get together. It’s devastating I didn’t get to know you longer. But I love hearing all of the stories. Family get togethers will never be quite the same.

Gone too soon xx

To my.brother ….
We were once close but time and misfortune done its dance
We done stuff the folks will never know about ,we had our fun. ,we were brothers till the end.yes we’ve had our differences but you were there ,my 49th was awesome to catch up …
I cant say ,Brothers but we will always be Brothers, ,maybe we weren’t close but one word …
Maybe i was the outsider , , but ,i dont know why or how , but i know you my brother ,pain in the ass maybe ,but I dont k ow wat went on that day … but i know in my heart you were lost ,confused .and meant no harm …
I’m usually the one , I will miss you .. ( and still missed you never took me out fishing ) love ya bro
Your big brother. BILL❤️

AJ, it has been so wonderful to have seen your impact on the family in these last 8 years that I have been apart of. Your jokes weren’t always funny to everyone but they still made you laugh. Thank you for being such an accepting person and always up for having a conversation with anyone. Isla will be told all the stories of her great uncle Aj.
Will miss you very much and I hope there is an endless supply of sauce bottles to fill up with bourbon and that you dont mix them up when having a snag!
Ella and Isla Jenkins xoxo

To Lisa, Amy, Matt and AJ’s family,
It was a shock to hear about AJ’s passing. Im thinking of you all during this tough and emotional time.
Sonia

Our deepest sympathy to Barb, Brian and all the family on the loss of your son.l AJ Thinking of you all during this very sad and difficult time. Sending love, strength and prayers.

With love Ang and girls 🙏❤️

AJ, larger than life! Always the first to jump in and help when something needed fixing and the calm, level headed one. Camping trips won’t be the same with you not there. We have had so many laughs over the years, Zoomies, Spag bol night. You will be deeply missed by so many.

Love always
Stu and Kristy

Still in shock on learning this devastating news.
Andrew was the most honest and caring person I had the pleasure of meeting.
His friendship and good humour on the golf course will be missed.
My sincere condolences to Brian,Barb, Karen, and extended families.
Andrew will be missed by the entire CMGC members.

I have memories of Andrew when he was doing his apprenticeship i Melbourne. His car was an old Fiat that was not the most reliable for driving in city traffic. There were a number of calls (some late night)for assistance in towing him home..His attitude was always it will be right, and he would fix it until the next time.
In more recent times on our occasional trips to Churchill, Andrew would call in,and was always smiling,jovial and respectfull. He carried that same attitude thru life, helping others and fixing things.
Rest In Peace Andrew.. Taken way too soon.

Ray & Ellen.

Sending heart felt condolences to Barb ,Brian and the Jenkins family at this sad time .Thinking of you all
Karen and Neil Spiero and family x

AJ would always be there whenever or for whatever you needed him for. Whether it was fixing the kids’ motorbikes, helping with a broken-down car, or needing a hand with a building job, you could always rely on him to be the first one to help.

I have so many memories of camping with Andrew in his younger years. I can remember him showing up with Matt in the Pajero, an esky and a pack of snags and bread. No tent — “We’ll just sleep in the car.” We had so many great trips with Andrew and plenty of laughs around a fire.

AJ also came along on our Cape York trip, meeting us up in Queensland after his very first plane trip. He told us he would meet us at the pub because it was just across the road from the airport. Little did he know that he actually had to walk around the whole airfield — about 8 kilometres — to get there.

On that trip, he had brought along his new toy, the DJI drone. On Fraser Island, we decided to film me and Alex driving along the beach with it. Andrew set himself up and told us he was ready.

We drove along the beach and, when we got back to AJ, he asked me to drive him back to where we had started. He had crashed the drone into the trees after we had gone past. This was okay because it was easy enough to find, and he had already done the filming — or so we thought.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten to press the record button.

So now his drone had a broken propeller and no footage to show for it.

AJ loved his toys and would always have something new and wonderful to play with on most of his trips.

On the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, he had another one of his favourite toys — the GoPro. Lucky for him, because he had never snorkelled before. When he got back to the pontoon, I asked him how he went.

He said, “The mask fogged up straight away and I couldn’t see a thing — but I got it all on video.”

That was AJ.

On our last big adventure together, I met up with AJ, Steve and Aaron in Exmouth, WA, for a fishing trip. Aaron and I were flying over, while AJ was driving because he had all his fishing gear, which he had somehow managed to fit into his car and onto the roof rack.

His plan was simple: drive until he was tired, find a place to sleep on WikiCamps, get up the next morning and do it all again.

On the way over, I had a call with him and he told me his butane cooker was playing up. He said he would have to get a new one when he found a shop after the Nullarbor.

I rang him the next day to find out how he was going, and he told me he had worked out why it wasn’t working.

He had mistaken a can of Bushman’s insect repellent for butane.

I don’t know how he even managed to get it to work, but those snags must have tasted bloody horrible.

We had a great trip with lots of fishing and a little bit of drinking.

On the way home, AJ decided that a spot on WikiCamps somewhere down near Esperance looked like a good place to stay. Little did he know that the track in there was an absolute nightmare — nowhere to turn around and two hours of low-range four-wheel driving.

He stayed there the night and left the next morning, only to find out about 300 kilometres up the road that his esky had fallen off the roof rack.

And what was AJ most worried about?

The shells Aaron had collected.

Not the $600 worth of fishing lures that were also in the esky.

That was AJ.

I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with AJ — on many fishing and motorbike trips, and also at work.

Fishing was something he really loved. But the thing that made Andrew happiest wasn’t necessarily catching the fish himself. When he was fishing with the kids, most of the time he wouldn’t even put a rod in the water. He wanted the kids to catch the fish, and he would help them bring it in.

That says a lot about the sort of person Andrew was.

He got more enjoyment out of seeing someone else have a good time than he did from doing it himself.

Fishing was a real love of his, and one memorable time was when we were in Weipa, Queensland, staying on the beach. There were fish busting up everywhere just in front of us. We spent two days trying to catch something.

At one point, Andrew was even waist-deep in crocodile-infested water trying to catch a fish.

One of the local ladies told us he was crazy.

Andrew just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’ll be alright.”

And somehow, that pretty much sums him up.

AJ was always up for an adventure. He loved his mates, his family, his motorbikes, his fishing, his camping and, of course, his latest toy.

But more than anything, Andrew was someone you could count on.

If you needed a hand, he was there.

If something was broken, he would have a go at fixing it.

If you were heading off somewhere, he was always ready for the next adventure.

And if there was a story to be made out of it, AJ was probably already in the middle of it.

I feel very lucky to have shared so many adventures, laughs, fishing trips and memories with him.

There are a lot of stories I could tell about AJ, and I’m sure everyone here has their own.

But the thing I will remember most is simply having him around — knowing that if you needed him, he would be there.

AJ, thanks for all the good times, the laughs, the adventures and the memories.

You’ll be bloody missed, mate.

Brian Jenkins (Fooj)

To Aj
My Big Brother, Brother InLaw, and Uncle
We cannot believe you are gone, our hearts break but our minds are full of the “best memories together”
Thankyou for turning up and thanks for the laughs..

To Lisa, Matt, Amy, Zac, Harvey and Matty your strength and courage has been phenomenal through out this week your dad would be so proud ♥️♥️

Love always Renee, Mick, Baylen, & Oakleigh xoxo

AJ maybe the “Fixer” to all but if you knew him well he was the “Breaker” of many things too.. If you spent Xmas with our family chances are he would have broken one of your toys either playing or checking out how it worked..This goes back to as far as I can remember and his still known for this now with don’t show uncle Aj he will break it.. We will definitely miss this as the years go on and we have no one to test out the toys..

Rest easy AJ where certainly going to miss you

Gone too soon xoxo

AJ
My big brother…gone way too soon. We’re all going to miss you more than you will ever know. Family catch ups will never be the same without you there telling fishing or golf stories…to you stirring the nieces and nephews always in fun.
My memories of our younger years are of you either in the driveway playing cricket…always the bowler or in the carport fixing your car from the crown to the fiat there was always something that needed fixing. One weekend it was the gearbox except that it ended up with four reverse gears and only one forward one…out it came again just to get it right the second time. You always loved pulling stuff apart just so you knew how to put it together again.
I remember you always getting Renee to wash your car on weekends…$5 for the outside or $10 inside and out..you would wait till she finished and then tell her you had no money to pay her and she fell for it every time!!

Loved and remembered always xx Karen

Aj,
The past 10ish years you were more than mums partners, you became family. You treated maddi and I like your own, showing us so much kindness and care. We really looked up to you.

I’ll always cherish the camping trip and fishing trips even though we had to stay in the inlet because id get to sea sick. And ill never forget thinking i was the coolest kid getting a lift to school on the back of your Harley.

Ill miss your cheeky laugh, our great chats, your silly dance moves, your stories, and how excited you get telling me about your latest toy purchase. You were always there to lend a hand no matter what it was.

Thank you for being you, you will always be loved

Love Tarsh xx

Andrew,
You came into our lives through our niece Michelle, and her daughters Maddi and Tarsh.
You immediately won our hearts, with your cheeky grin, and black and white approach to every problem.
We became Aunty Kay and Uncle Don, and you never called us anything else.
Our heats, our thoughts, and our prayers are with Amy, Lisa and Matthew, his parents Barbra and Brian, and his extended family.
Aunty kay and Uncle Don
Jack, Robyn, Jorja, Riley Linc and Mark ODDY

We are so sad to lose him so tragically but know this world has been made a better place, because Andrew was here.

Little Andy, the very first day we met when I turned up at Maryvale high not knowing a soul you straight up befriended me when I most needed a friend, even at the age of 13 you were big hearted, always happy and had just the right mix of naughty which all contributed to making you a great bloke. Although After school, life took us down different paths, I will be forever grateful for our friendship, so rest up now, until the next time we meet old mate.