PASTOR Derek Bodycote will be remembered by his loved ones as a passionate, hard-working man of God.
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The Harvest Church pastor died on Saturday morning at the age of 67 after a two-and-a-half-year battle with leukemia.
Derek is survived by his wife Grace, their two children David and Leanne, and seven grandchildren.
Grace said her husband was a loving family man who was devoted to his faith.
“He was hardworking and was very focused on giving people chances; he was tremendous,” she said.
“Our family is very close; he loved his kids and his grandchildren. Anytime we could get some time off we would head back to Adelaide to visit them.”
Derek was born is Essex, England on June 29, 1951. After moving to Australia as a young man, Derek met Grace in Adelaide and the pair married in 1969.
He worked as a supervisor at the South Australian Department of Engineering and Water Supply before taking up a pastoral role at Paradise Church in Adelaide, which he held for 23 years.
Grace said the couple found their faith later in life.
“He never grew up with the church; we became Christians in 1976,” she said.
“Derek always wanted to make sure that everybody could achieve happiness. His main message was that God loves you. He always wanted to see the best in people come out.”
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In 2010, Grace said the couple heard the call of God to move to the country.
“We got a phone call from Harvest Church Horsham to come here to preach,” she said.
“It was different coming from the city to the country; we found the country was very hospitable and people just thought about each other.
“Derek couldn’t wait to get involved. He was a part of the Christian Ministers group and the Christian Emergency Food Centre; he was chairman for the centre until he got sick.”
Harvest Church has almost 300 parishioners who attend Sunday services.
“They are all wonderful and have been phenomenal with their support since his passing,” she said.
“I’d like to thank the community because they made life really easy for us when we moved here.”
Derek’s funeral will be held at Harvest Church, Horsham on October 2 at 2pm.
