Edwin remembered: Family mourns man hit by train in Moseley
Reeling in the wake of losing him, Edwin O'Rielly's family have shared a little about the man he was and their fondest memories of him.
EDWIN O’Reilly was well loved by all who knew him. He died in hospital just over a week ago after being found near the railway tracks in Moseley by a security guard on a routine patrol.
Those closest to him felt it was important to remember who he was and what he meant to people in the Queensburgh community.
Tamlyn Murray, a pre-school teacher from Queensburgh, with whom he was living, said his death has been very hard for her to process. “We were together for three years,” she said. “I loved his kind and caring nature the most. He was always willing to help anyone and also had a great passion for the welfare of animals.”
“Edwin was always smiling and ready to talk or just listen. He was a gentle soul.”
Murray said Edwin had moved to Durban from East London to be closer to her. His family live in the Eastern Cape and Cape Town. “He loved his family and missed them very much.”
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Bev Oelofse, Edwin’s eldest sister, said she was heartbroken about his death and was still in shock from the news.
“We were a family of six siblings,” said Oelofse. “I am the eldest and living in Cape Town. Edwin was a very mischievous child who always found the funny side of everything. He had a great love of animals.”
“He came to Cape Town and brought Tamlyn with so that we could meet her,” she recalled adding that she and he had been quite close and were in contact despite the geographical distance between them since he moved to Durban.
Having previously worked in the paint industry, he accepted a similar job in Durban after his move here and most recently put his skills to good use in helping to renovate his church.
Murray said the day Edwin died was one of the most traumatic of her life. “It’s such a shock especially as I didn’t make it to the hospital in time to say a proper goodbye,” she said. “And did not have closure on what or how this happened,”
She said what is making it even harder for her is not having him around to help her cope.
“I miss him so much. He took very good care of me and always cared about my day and me as a person.”
Over the days following his death, Murray struggled to make sense of everything that had happened. She said the gossip and stories being shared are very hurtful to her.
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“I know for sure in my heart that it was an accident he didn’t see coming. Our morning was the same as every other morning. He saw me off to work as he always did,” she explained.
“I’m very hurt at the stories I hear people spreading about him. If they didn’t know him they have no right to assume,” she said.
“Let us mourn him without all this negativity people spread. It’s not fair to him or his family. He doesn’t deserve it. People need to realise they are not only hurting me and Ed’s family but my children as well as his own.”
Oelofse said Edwin had two grown-up children, Janet, and Damian. “He also had a grandson, Kevin, and granddaughter Zelda,” she said. He is survived by his mother who is over 80-years-old.
“My mom is still alive. She is very sad about his death,” said Oelofse. “She is very strong and believes that it was his day and that one must move on.”
Murray said she was very thankful to all the people who treated Edwin with kindness after his injury.
“I would like to thank everyone, from the paramedics to the neighbourhood watch and this newspaper for trying to contact his next of kin, the hospital staff who tried their utmost best to keep him with us and the person who covered him with his jacket at the scene, Andreas of Blue Security who was there talking to him and comforting him and my boss for being amazing and so understanding through this,” she said.
Police have opened an inquest into his death and are investigating.
A memorial service will be held for Edwin on Friday, 14 June, at 11am, at the Pinetown Full Gospel Church, 37 Glenugie Road, Pinetown.
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