For over 14 years Harry Johnston-Lord religiously recorded daily rainfall figures from the Warnervale home he shared with his wife Helen.
It was an interest that would go on to help many hundreds of motorists in Warnervale who needed to know if the notorious Minnesota Rd would be passable or closed due to flooding.
Sadly, Johnston-Lord passed away on October 26 aged 80 after a short illness.
His wife of over 56 years, Helen, said his interest in recording rainfall figures had started around the late 1960s.
“It was just an interest, and then he got really into it,” she said.
“He just kept it going.”
However, on the Central Coast, those daily rainfall figures became important, as he discovered after getting involved with a Facebook group called Fix Our Roads.
The group was formed to lobby the local council and State Government to fix the roads around Warnervale where housing had boomed but supporting infrastructure had not.
“Initially some people asked why all the reports on rainfall, but people were looking at it to see if they could get through Minnesota Rd,” Helen Johnston-Lord said.
One community member behind the Fix Our Roads group, Sue Coleman, said the members looked forward to reading his information.
“He recorded the daily rainfall statistics which he shared on a monthly basis to our community group,” she said.
“We also eagerly awaited Harry to put us in the know when we had an ad hoc crazy rain event or thunderstorms.
“Our success in achieving road upgrades was a result of community involvement which Harry and Helen were very much the heart of.
“Our community misses Harry dearly and our thoughts are with Helen and family.”
Born in 1943 at Port Kembla, Johnston-Lord trained to be a fitter and turner, firstly at HMAS Platypus (torpedo factory) and later at Garden Island, but didn’t really enjoy this work.
He instead studied to be screen printer and went on to teach screen printing at Hunter’s Hill and other evening colleges.
He had a great interest in art, including pencil sketches and water colours, and worked with leather, often in miniature, as well as constructing and painting traditional Japanese kites.
He was an excellent photographer, had a life-long interest in Egypt and steam locomotives and an interest in all things military.
He volunteered with Norah Head Marine Rescue as a radio operator and was a Justice of the Peace for many years.
However, his main passion was Rookwood Cemetery where he was a member of the Friends of Rookwood for 30 years and a tour guide for over 20 years.
A celebration of his life will be held at the 1st Wyong Scout Hall in Levitt St Wyong on November 21 from 11am.
Denice Barnes