<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Oct 5, 2008
TEARY FAREWELL
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>JBJ's sons pay tribute to a loving father
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jeremy Au Yong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
Family members, including sons Kenneth (left) and Philip (centre), at JBJ's funeral service at St Andrew's Cathedral. Kenneth remembered the family tradition of going to Robinsons to pick out a Christmas gift, a habit JBJ kept even when bankrupt. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Not J.B. Jeyaretnam the opposition politician, but JBJ the loving husband, father and grandfather.
In an emotional service at St Andrew's Cathedral yesterday, his sons - Kenneth and Philip - paid tribute to a side of their father only they knew.
Their eulogies left many of the 600 friends, family members, opposition politicians and activists packed into the church teary-eyed.
Mr Jeyaretnam died of heart failure last Tuesday. He was 82.
His older son, Kenneth, 49, spoke first and talked about his father's devotion to the family.
He remembered building a pirate ship out of an old mattress when he was younger and how his father gamely played along.
He recalled a letter from his father saying he was so excited to hear that his son had got a first-class honours degree from Cambridge University that he could not sleep.
He also remembered the family tradition of going to Robinsons to pick out a Christmas gift, a habit Mr Jeyaretnam kept up even when bankrupt.
'He always insisted on accompanying Jared to Robinsons at Christmas time to choose him a present, a trip I remember taking with him from my own childhood,' he said, referring to his 11-year-old son.
'Over the past week, people have asked me how it felt to have a father who put politics first and family second. The answer to this question is, 'I don't know', because my father put his family first always,' he said.
Philip, 44, also spoke on the lesser-known aspects of his father's life, such as how he got into trouble in school in Muar, how dedicated he was to his faith and how devoted he was to his wife.
Mr Jeyaretnam met his British wife, Ms Margaret Walker, while studying law in London. She campaigned with him as he tried to win a parliamentary seat. She died in 1980 of cancer, a year before he won the Anson by-election and was elected MP.
'Her memory stayed with him and kept him going in his darkest moments,' said the son. Mr Jeyaretnam's body was later cremated in Mandai. He is survived by his two sons and four grandchildren.
TEARY FAREWELL
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>JBJ's sons pay tribute to a loving father
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jeremy Au Yong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Family members, including sons Kenneth (left) and Philip (centre), at JBJ's funeral service at St Andrew's Cathedral. Kenneth remembered the family tradition of going to Robinsons to pick out a Christmas gift, a habit JBJ kept even when bankrupt. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Not J.B. Jeyaretnam the opposition politician, but JBJ the loving husband, father and grandfather.
In an emotional service at St Andrew's Cathedral yesterday, his sons - Kenneth and Philip - paid tribute to a side of their father only they knew.
Their eulogies left many of the 600 friends, family members, opposition politicians and activists packed into the church teary-eyed.
Mr Jeyaretnam died of heart failure last Tuesday. He was 82.
His older son, Kenneth, 49, spoke first and talked about his father's devotion to the family.
He remembered building a pirate ship out of an old mattress when he was younger and how his father gamely played along.
He recalled a letter from his father saying he was so excited to hear that his son had got a first-class honours degree from Cambridge University that he could not sleep.
He also remembered the family tradition of going to Robinsons to pick out a Christmas gift, a habit Mr Jeyaretnam kept up even when bankrupt.
'He always insisted on accompanying Jared to Robinsons at Christmas time to choose him a present, a trip I remember taking with him from my own childhood,' he said, referring to his 11-year-old son.
'Over the past week, people have asked me how it felt to have a father who put politics first and family second. The answer to this question is, 'I don't know', because my father put his family first always,' he said.
Philip, 44, also spoke on the lesser-known aspects of his father's life, such as how he got into trouble in school in Muar, how dedicated he was to his faith and how devoted he was to his wife.
Mr Jeyaretnam met his British wife, Ms Margaret Walker, while studying law in London. She campaigned with him as he tried to win a parliamentary seat. She died in 1980 of cancer, a year before he won the Anson by-election and was elected MP.
'Her memory stayed with him and kept him going in his darkest moments,' said the son. Mr Jeyaretnam's body was later cremated in Mandai. He is survived by his two sons and four grandchildren.
