By Mara Pattison-Sowden
THE legacy of a Warburton resident will live on with the donation of his woodturning tools to Yarra Junction’s men’s shed.
Jack Magree was well-known in Warburton as a man who was passionate to share his knowledge and his time.
He passed away on 26 January this year after an eight-month fight with cancer in his 80th year.
His friend Maggie Sail described Jack as a quiet achiever, a teller of great yarns and a talented artist.
“Jack was humble and self-effacing, preferring to draw attention to the skills of others than his own achievements,” she said.
Ms Sail said Jack had a love of the Yarra Valley long before he purchased the land on which he created “the house that Jack built”, firstly as a holiday house and then as his full-time home.
“He could often be found spreading jokes at the Alpine Retreat and he was always willing to listen,” she said.
“Jack had the uncanny ability to see whenever someone needed a kind word or a helpful suggestion to point them in the right direction.”
Ms Sail said from the date of his retirement Jack seemed to assist as many people as possible without letting his love of woodturning and story-telling suffer in any way.
“Because of this passion to create opportunities for anyone eager to learn, he has donated his entire wood-turning set so that all may benefit from his dedication to art, wood and sharing.”
Ben’s Shed president Bob Finch said they were grateful to have been thought of and Jack’s lathe, tools and collection of timber for turning would be well-utilised.
“We haven’t got a wood turning lathe here so now we’re looking for someone to teach us how to use it,” he said.
