obituary
Ranald Webster
Born: 19 January 1922
Died: 1 April 2010
WITH only a four per cent chance of surviving, Ranald Webster overcame adversity after being badly burnt in the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.
He miraculously survived and used the years following as an opportunity to share his fighting spirit to help other burn victims.
Sadly, the man affectionately known as Ran, passed away surrounded by family on Thursday after losing his battle with cancer.
But his cheeky smile and caring nature will never be forgotten by those who had the privilege of meeting him.
His daughter Kay Maas described her father as a pillar of the community, someone who always wanted to help out where he could. He was a devoted volunteer of the Red Cross but his main love was The Alfred burns unit.
Ran was badly burnt while he was volunteering for the Gembrook CFA during the devastating fires, and soon became the unofficial face of the survivors.
“He’d been through Ash Wednesday himself as a patient,” Ms Maas said.
“So both Mum and Dad thought it was their duty to do what they could for the hospital.”
When Ran was recovering in hospital, wife Rae was caring for their six children at their Nar Nar Goon North home.
When nurses at the hospital became aware she did not have a driver’s licence they soon organised a roster to pick up Rae so she could visit her husband. The love and respect of the nurses was never forgotten. Soon after his recovery Ran joined the board of the burns unit and would attend monthly meetings. After the meetings, Kay said her father would then head to the burns unit, with a bag of photos in hand and speak to patients and their families.
“They would say to him ‘you don’t know what we’re going through’ but then he would show them what he went through,” she said. “He was always such a positive man; it was good for them to see that things would get better.”
The Alfred hospital Father’s Day Appeal was also Ran’s idea – with most of the money raised going to the burns unit.
“He really wanted to give back, and he did,” Kay said.
Last month, Ran and Rae celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary, something Kay said she believed her father had been holding out for.
“He was really sick for about 18 months, he had bowel cancer first and then it moved to his liver,” she said.
“But it was so nice to see him smiling and laughing on their anniversary.”
Ran Webster was the father of six children, 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
His funeral will be held on Thursday 8 April at 2pm at the Pakenham Uniting Church.
