Every time a rainbow appears in the sky, the hearts and minds of many in the Manning Valley, especially Old Bar, turn to one man and one family.
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Today, August 31, marks one year since Brendan Maloney, a devoted family man and friend, lost his courageous fight against sarcoma, a malignant cancer.
The rainbow was a symbol that represented the #teambrendanm phenomenon, organised by a group of very special friends and family who came together to fundraise for his ongoing treatment and support Brendan, his wife Callie and their children, Baden and Tyra.
Brendan was born in Sydney on October 18, 1971 to Margaret and Len Maloney. He has an older brother Lindsay and a younger sister Elizabeth. The family moved to Wingham when Brendan was around seven.
He had just started triathlon when he met his future wife, Callie, in 1995.
As someone who enjoyed running, swimming and cycling, triathlon was a great fit for him. He completed two Australian Ironman events, several half ironman distance and many local triathlons during his 22 years with Callie, who he married on February 6, 1999.
"He always said he didn’t like the training nearly as much as he loved how it felt to cross the finish line, knowing the effort and commitment had been worth everything he’d put into it,” she said.
Brendan was also a very keen surfer, starting when he was about 16, and loved music, playing both acoustic and electric guitar.
In the last two years of his life he worked on writing an original acoustic piece that he played a lot at home until he was unable to use his arm in the last few months of his life. “It was beautiful,” said Callie. “Sadly, if he wrote it down I’m yet to find it and we didn’t get around to recording him playing it. We need to remember to take time out for the little things before they are lost to us.”
Brendan’s passion for Volkswagens started early. His family owned them and his mum bought him a VW Magazine when he was a young teenager. He became hooked, he never owned anything else.
He loved the coast and moved to Old Bar when he was about 26, moving into his first house with Callie, in Smith Street.
They welcomed their twins, Tyra and Baden on November 2, 2003. They were 10 when Brendan was diagnosed in June 2014. After treatment it was believed he was in the clear but the cancer returned in March 2015, resulting in the loss of his right leg. Brendan fought with inspiring strength and courage until the end, which came on August 31, 2017.
He will be forever missed and forever remembered.
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Lauren Green
Lauren has been a journalist with the Manning River Times since 2001.
Lauren has been a journalist with the Manning River Times since 2001.
