EIGHThundred people packed into Essendon’s St Monica’s Catholic church last Thursday to pay their final respects to lifetime Keilor resident and local market gardener Anthony Senserrick who died late last month.
It was standing room only as family, friends and well-wishers, some of whom had travelled all the way from Darwin to attend the funeral, filled the church for the 11am service to pay tribute to a life that has touched so many in Melbourne’s West.
Mr Senserrick died on Wednesday 22 November, at the age of 62, after a six-year battle with prostate cancer.
A familiar and charismatic personality and one of Keilor’s most recognisable faces, Mr Senserrick was known for his warm generosity.
And it showed, as speaker after speaker described a man who loved life, revelled in laughter and friendship, and who had what one friend described as a “wicked and mischievous” sense of humour that shone through in many of the stories told at the service.
“In the life of Anthony we have an extraordinary role model,” Father Francesco Cavarra told mourners.
“He was the sort of person who would make you feel at home instantly.”
After leaving school in his mid teens, Mr Senserrick followed in his father’s footsteps and started growing vegetables on the Senserrick family farm in the late 1950s, before moving to his own property, in Milburn Rd, in 1958 to continue on the family business.
Aside from his famous fresh produce, Mr Senserrick had been know around Brimbank for his love for almost any sport, from football to swimming, and even squash.
Following the official Requiem Mass at St Monica’s Mr Senserrick was taken to Keilor Cemetery for burial.
At the final Brimbank City Council meeting for the year, held last week, council voted to send a letter of condolence to the Senserrick family, after Horseshoe Bend Ward councillor Kathryn Eriksson read a brief, glowing tribute.
Mr Senserrick, whose son Patrick has taken over the family business, is survived by his wife, Margaret, his five children, Patrick, Carmen, Angela, Julian and Jane, and four grandchildren.
