DES Phillips, who died on Tuesday aged 51, believed the people of the Eurobodalla had a heart, and was always confident of their support for his dream.
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That dream - a holiday home for families struck with news of a life threatening illness - will become a reality thanks to support totalling $600,000 in cash and kind, and the dedication of the band of supporters he gathered around him.
There have been hurdles along the way. Not everyone thought it was achievable in the early days, there were some objections to the location and Council approval was not always a sure thing.
But Des was never despondent - he was determined and he believed absolutely in his idea.
Des lived in Batemans Bay during the 70s and then returned with his wife Lorraine in 1984 to re-establish his sign-writing business and invest in some property.
His business did well, despite some major financial set backs, and his family grew to include four daughters - Michelle, Heidi, Lara and Ursula.
Six years ago he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and when his doctor told him to do the things he’d always wanted to do, he decided on a flight on the Concorde.
But he didn’t go alone. He took five sick children with him to share the experience. The money was raised at several functions with the help of an enthusiastic band of helpers.
The group flew around the world, visiting America to meet World Heavyweight champion Larry Holmes (who maintained contact with Des), going to Disneyland, New York, Las Vegas, seeing the ‘Tap Dogs’ concert and finally taking a trip on the Concorde to England.
It was during that trip that Des hatched the idea for what was to become Fiona Lodge and, after discussing it with the children on his trip and many medical experts, returned to make the project happen.
“I knew I had to do something else, to keep my mind off myself,” he said.
Rotary International was the first big organisation to come on board and, after Des addressed 200 McDonalds representatives in Sydney, Ronald McDonald Charities agreed to buy the land.
Rachael and Jim Johns, owners of McDonalds in Batemans Bay, had a similar dream to Des and soon others joined them on the Fiona Lodge committee.
The project was named after Fiona Art (nee Weekes), who was known to many local people as another fighter until she died in 1997, and was designed to give families and victims of a terminal illness a quiet place to go and get their thoughts together.
Fundraising was kick-started in a big way with the Bay of Dreams dinner which raised $55,000.
Since its inception, the concept has grown, beyond even Des’ expectations.
There are four more houses planned for Australia and another 45 throughout the world.
“I think my family could have done with this kind of help,” Des said. “They were very distressed, I was worried about them.
“There is no facility like this anywhere in the world - it’s very much needed.”
In an interview in November, Des said the project still had along way to go.
He spoke of maintaining the house once it had been built, training people in their dealings with the visiting families and he insisted that everything had to be of the highest quality and standards.
He was not interested in second rate.
“This is my dream but a lot of people have come to share it,” he said.
“It’s going to be terrific. The day it opens there’ll be a lot of us that will be very relieved - but we will have done something for the community.
“People have been terrific, you couldn’t ask for anything more really.
“This project has changed the town. People here have always had a big heart and that will be shown worldwide.
“It has pulled a lot of people together and shown a lot of people how to share and not be selfish.”