By Alesha Capone
Tributes are flowing for much-loved Werribee resident and volunteer Neil Dillon who passed away earlier this month.
Neil, 88, spent decades volunteering within the Maribyrnong and Wyndham communities.
Neil, who moved to Werribee in 2004, was a master craftsman who volunteered to teach trade carpentry and woodwork to men and women at the Wyndham Park Community Shed.
He also helped to plan and build the Heathdale and Neighbourhood Community Shed (Heathdale Men’s Shed) and spent seven years working on the project with Wyndham council officers.
He served on the shed’s board and also volunteered at the Heathdale Neighbourhood Association.
Neil’s daughter Robyn said that before moving to Werribee, her father spent around 20 years volunteering in Maribyrnong, while he lived in Braybrook.
He was instrumental in the establishment of the Braybrook Men’s Shed, where he also volunteered as a teacher. Before he moved to Werribee, Neil won the 2000 Maribyrnong council Educator’s Award for volunteer educators.
Neil was also a member of the Army Reserve and played the trumpet and trombone in multiple bands, including police, army and the Sunshine City Band.
Robyn said her dad enjoyed boxing and wheel-barrow racing in his younger days, and was a keen cyclist for many years, including participating in the City2Surf event.
Together with his late wife Joan, Neil had six children, 18 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. He helped his children build six family homes.
Robyn said her father was “the best”.
“He touched a lot of lives,” she said.
“He was full of information, very, very intelligent, and always telling stories about the past, his memory was unbelievable.”
After the news of Neil’s passing was posted on the Werribee Men’s Shed Facebook page on April 16, several people commented about how much he would be missed in the community.
