Sheila and John Fernandez reared three remarkable sons - Deryk, Cedryk and Fredryk. Auntie Sheila referred to them as her "Three 'Ryk's!" It was a proud day for her when all three earned Victor Ludorum (Top Man) at the Annual Sports in St. Columba's - Junior, Middle and Senior.

Sheila was a national Award Winning art teacher in St. Columba's for many years. Every day when she opened her tiffin she found a card or poem or flower from John. The boys excelled in all sports, academics and art. Cedryk, the shortest, was the most determined. He had to be first! Deryk joined the IAF and became a navigator in VIP aircraft, which involved accompanying the PM and other Top Brass on foreign trips. Their parents were very happy when Cedryk opted to join the Christian Brothers in Mount Carmel, Kurseong. At his reception into the Congregation he was given the name Gregory. Fredryk followed him to Mount Carmel and became Brother Martin. It was a sad day for Martin when Greg decided to leave the Brothers and join the IAF. His Mum prayed daily that he would leave the IAF and join the Brothers again. She got her wish. Greg flew a plane which wasn't really airworthy. He should have crashed but he landed the plane successfully. You can be sure that the ground staff got a good tongue lashing! The incident was reason enough to be allowed to leave the IAF and, true to his Mum's prayer, he re-joined Mount Carmel.

Greg was the most efficient teacher imaginable. Every lesson was planned meticulously and science labs prepared so that every pupil had hands-on experience. He was a strict disciplinarian but totally just. Thousands of pupils will testify to the way he was a huge influence in their lives. He kept an account of each one of them, Besides being a talented artist he became a fine photographer and computer nerd. He designed personal birthday cards and other greetings. He composed PowerPoint Presentations and videos to be used for catechetics and other subjects. He catalogued every photo he ever took.

Greg's renown as a teacher followed him wherever he was missioned - St. Pat's Asansol, Dadar, Vasai, Naini Tal etc. When he was in St. Pat's, a sticky problem arose. It was a three stream school and 50 of the Class IX boys failed the final exam. The teachers knew, unhappily, that the Principal was about to close the boarding section, and they were adamant that the boys should not be promoted. The Principal went to Greg and told him about the stand-off. Greg volunteered to take all the failures in one class, provided he could set all the tests for them. 48 of the boys passed the ICSE. I'm sure the two who failed went down in subjects for which Greg was not responsible. He never had a failure in any subject he taught!

He was appointed Principal in Naini Tal where he ran a top-notch school. His back began to give serious trouble but he didn't complain. In fact he never complained of personal pain. Sometimes he was withdrawn and aloof as if he were troubled. Sadly, he kept it all to himself. Exteriorly he seemed tough and indestructible but inside he was as soft as butter. He had a keen sense of humour. When he received the Sunday newspaper, he went into a paroxysm of giggles at the Bo Peep comic strip.

A few days ago, Greg had come to St. Columba's from Naini Tal where he had been alone. He and Martin spoke on the phone on Saturday night. Sunday morning, feast of the Lord's Baptism, Greg was called home.

I'm sure he too heard the Father say, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."

—Br Bap Finn