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Rest In Peace John (Dam It!!) 14/05/1958 - 17/08/2014

8/19/2014

Dear ALL

This afternoon I visited john at the St George Hospital. I was met by his mum, aunt, and sister, who advised that things have not gone well at all for John. Overnight, the treatment for trying to recover from the Pneumonia had not worked. He was on an eco-machine which was enabling him to breathe and pump his blood. All his reactions to the preparation for the future treatment of the myeloma were good and so the confidence was up for full recovery from Myeloma.

Regrettably this morning the x-rays found bleeding in the brain. A decision was made to stop life support as there is no hope for any recovery. John had a series of bad luck, from Influenza A to severe pneumonia to bleeding of the brain.

I met Kathy and the boys after meeting John and the other family members at the hospital, they plan to switch off the eco machine this evening.

So, this evening John will pass on to see his daughter and catch up with Walter

Not only have we lost a close friend to us all, but a great and honest man who only wanted good for his family and friends.

John had plans to live in Italy for 2-3 years after his retirement with his family and only recently ( last week ) john and the boys received their Italian passports.

God bless you John, RIP

Best Regards,

Tony Caristo

All,

Sadly Kathy has now confirmed John has passed away.

We have lost a long time friend. May he rest in peace.

Will pass on notification of the funeral as soon as I hear.

Regards

Paul Sancandi

I am speechless and in shock.

John had so much life left to live and I can't believe he is gone especially as he was sitting with us laughing and have fun on months ago at the BRC and looked healthy.

I honestly have tears in my eyes...its just unreal.

My heart goes out to his family and may John rest in peace.

Life is way too short gentlemen.

Live life, we never know when our number is up.

Please keep me informed of the funeral date.

George

Dear All.

It has taken me till now to come to terms as to what has happened and respond in some form.

I am shocked , saddened , & confused.

How could this happen : So quickly : to a person who we all knew so well & loved.

I feel deeply for Kathy & the boys .... so much has been taken away from them and taken away from us too.

Taken way too soon !

John ( Damit ) Decataldo .... one of natures true gentlemen.

I will miss his dry sense of humour , razor wit and his company .

I am too saddened to say any more right now.

May he rest in peace

Jim

The Rok

I got the txt from Kathy last night but I was somewhat prepared as I visited John on Saturday afternoon. I did get the explanation from the sister about all the machines so I did say my goodbyes to him then as a tear come over my eye. I had the same situation with my dad who lasted 18 hours after we also pulled life support following 7 days without response after major brain surgery and effects of warforan did not proved dad with much of a chance.
Life is indeed too short members and you just have to do the best you can with what you have been dealt with without any wildcards and hopefully don't always go all in :-)

I will come back from the funeral from Brisbane once the details are known.

Very sad day for all concerned and my condolences goes out to Kathy and Johns family.

Mav

Too sad for words.

What I recall most is the quiet nature, the humour and the mannerisms, which were the same since his high school days.

Such a kind and gentle soul, taken far too soon.

pk

(Prof)

Dear all

Guess I’m mirroring everyone’s thoughts and finding it hard to grasp the sudden nature of John’s passing away.

We are deeply saddened and will always remember John fondly from my first acquaintance beginning at high school, through university and beyond. Too many memories to name.

Feel lucky that we had the pleasure of knowing John, he was a kind, caring and generous person who will be greatly missed by all.

Our hearts go out to Kathy, the boys and John’s Family during this difficult time.

Robert

All,

I'd also like to echo the thoughts and feeling of everyone in saying John or Decca as I knew him at school will be dearly missed.

He was a kind and gentle man.

Father, Husband, Son and Friend.

RIP

Sincerely David

Just got home to read this sad sad news.

We've just lost a really decent bloke and a good friend to all of us.

To Kathy and the boys I just don't know what to say.

Vale John - we miss you and will not forget you.
Regards,

Peter

All,

Following message from Kathy, My darling John's funeral is booked in for this coming Friday 22nd at 11am at Regina Coeli Catholic church Ponyara rd Beverly Hills. Burial will be at Rookwood cemetery followed by refreshments in the function room at the cemetery. All r welcome.

Regards

Paul Sancandi

Guys

I have been without internet connection for a week or so and have only just received the news about John. I am shocked and saddened by what has happened. He was such a good and decent guy.

Regards.

Rick ( in Moscow)

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Minutes of Meeting BRC LXI at Banker's Vault, 1st August 2014

8/11/2014

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Notes from Sniper

It was another excellent BRC meeting last night with much of the usual noise and good cheer. Many thanks to Banker for generously hosting the evening, and my particular thanks for him “stepping in” when I found myself unavailable to play the role of host at this time.

We were all concerned to hear that Dammit was unwell and receiving treatment in hospital and he was very much missed. There was a universal sentiment from the membership of “get well soon Dammit – we look forward to seeing you at the next BRC”. Apologies for my late arrival; I think it’s fair to say that when I walked in I was the best but most inappropriately dressed attendee, a situation I quickly addressed in the “dressing room” corner of the room. The news that the Bulldogs had lost to the Panthers was a bad start from my perspective.

My mood quickly rose due to the excellent company and banter, enhanced by some colourful NRL gear. Jagger was obviously having a few respiratory problems in the aftermath of a bout of flu, which is not good, but Banker bringing out a face mask and the ensuing antics were absolutely hilarious. That kind of enjoyment is gold – and in some ways keeps us feeling younger than we are. More please! I look forward to seeing the photos.

We were all surprised by the news that -

(a) Developer had happily accepted a flight upgrade and abandoned his family (who were in Economy) to soak up the delights of Business Class without them – how did he get away with it?; and

(b) Punter has taken to drinking hydrogen peroxide and now has blonded internal organs; Punter- the colour of your inards is not a fashion statement!

Notwithstanding the noise, there didn’t seem to be a great deal of grog being consumed. I had a sip of the Penfolds Bin 9 provided by Punter and was most impressed. Thanks to Punter for that. Most of the “innovative” games weren’t (Texas in a V shape is just double Texas!), with a few exceptions. Banker’s L shaped game was certainly new and was used by Banker a number of times (pretty much every time he was the dealer - GT would know whether this was the case). It won’t be new next time - a key feature of innovation! I can’t remember too much more about individual games other than the surprise personal wild card (each player only finds out his personal wild card after betting has concluded) lunacy from The Rok.

All in all it was a most enjoyable night. Thanks to all.

Regards. Sniper

Notes from TC Jagger

Thanks Sniper for the summary. Yes many thanks for the group entertainment and the great antipasto and the fruit prepared by Banker washed down with the great wine. Shame we don’t seem to get through all the wine. Guys less beer and more wine to enjoy.

Gents now for the matter of the competition table , see enclosed. Maverick in relation to the relevance of 1 point; each point is very important and is hard earned. 3rd and 4th positions of night actually determined who was leading. A mere 700 chips separated 3rd ( the Professor) and 4th ( TC Jagger) resulting in Professor gaining 8 pts for the night pushing him to first place on 30 Points overall and TC Jagger gained 7 points to 28 points overall to hold 2nd place. If the positions had been swapped as initially determined until the prof found an extra 800 chips, the positions would have been equal first for Prof and TC Jagger, both on 29 points. The biggest mover of the night was Sniper, although arriving late for the night started well and finished well to achieve 1st place with 10 points pushing him from 6th place to 3rd overall on 27 points. The biggest mover on the negative was the Rok, moving from 1st to 4th on 26 points.

In summary

For the night the top 4 positions were

Sniper first, clear 20000 chips ahead of 2nd, followed by Big Bluff ( not the usual last or first), then Professor and TC Jagger. ( with 2nd , 3rd and 4th only separated by less than 3000 chips)

Punter at the rear and The ROK , second last.

Overall positions ( top 4 only separated by 4 points.) The professor on 30 points.

TC Jagger on 28 points

Sniper on 27 points

The Rok on 26 points.

Maverick and Developer on 22 points.

Banker on 20 points

Punter on 18 points

Big Bluff on 14points

Dam it on 11 points.

Based on historical results of the last 2 years the winner has won with 45 points, with only 2 games remaining and a full 20 points is available, the Champion for 2014 will therefore come from the current top 4. To achieve a podium finish you will need at least 40 points. So do your sums.

TC Jagger

Stats from GT

Hi all

Attached are the stats for BRC LXI.

The most distinguishing feature of this round was that 69% of hands were won by 5 of kind, a new all-time round record.

Regards

GT

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Rest In Peace John (Dam It!!) 14/05/1958 - 17/08/2014

Minutes of Meeting BRC LXI at Banker's Vault, 1st August 2014

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