Karl John Ragnar Påhlman

jur kand, LLM, phD, fd verkst direktör i Pahlman International, fd ryttmästare i Kavalleriets reserv, R-RJoh (Korumburra, VIC, Australien). G 1:o 1959-01 (m Anna Lena Johansson); 2:o 2002 14/3 m Aiwa Tan, * 1954 4/7.


Av sonen Andrew/Andays:


Ragnar Pahlman Eulogy - June 2020


Today we celebrate an extraordinary life, full of achievements, adventure, travel, passion and love. 94 years. A good innings by any standard.




Dad was born in Sweden, a direct descendant of Jurgen Påhlman who was knighted after saving the Swedish king¿s life in battle in the early 1600s. And probably straight from the Vikings before that. He was proud of his heritage.




He was the oldest son with 3 lovely sisters who all looked up to their older brother.




As a young man he had many female admirers, as can be seen from old photo albums. Pages and pages of them. Attracted to his handsome looks, charming personality, sense of fun and adventure and his quirky sense of humour.




He always wanted to fly like a bird, but was rejected by the air force due to colour blindness. Instead he joined the cavalry and so began his life-long love of horses.




In my youth growing up we always had horses. Dad, my brother Charlie and I rode a lot, and competed in dressage, show jumping and eventing. Even in his 60s dad would train his horses for hours on end under the hot Australian sun. Wearing his wide brimmed hat. He kept riding till he was almost 80.




He had a prodigious work ethic. He was a lawyer, a judge, a captain in the cavalry, a United Nations observer, principal at Broderna Påhlmans, Sweden¿s largest and oldest commercial college and had a string of other businesses. Then together with my mum he established and built a new business from scratch in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He always had ideas and expanded where he saw opportunities.




Perhaps his favourite job was as head of PR and Secretary to the Board of Sarabolaget, Sweden¿s largest premier restaurant company. There he wined and dined foreign dignitaries at Sweden¿s best establishments. He was an extroverted epicure. He loved people and he loved food.




When Anna-Marie and I travelled with mum and dad through France he had a few simple rules: there are 2 important events every day: lunch and dinner; every meal starts with a glass of French champagne each, and 2 glasses for him. We¿ve never eaten so well.




His most formative job was the cavalry. He said he learned so much from his time in the military that benefited him throughout his life. Much of it was tough and grueling. But he learned resilience, discipline and camaraderie. Many friends from the cavalry were life-long friends.




Like many who experience war, he was deeply affected by the brutality he saw as a UN military observer in the Middle East. It changed him forever. We now know he suffered undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder. His level of stress could be explosive.




He became a passionate campaigner for truth and justice in the Middle East wherever he went. He saw it as a duty to speak out.




¿Den som tiger han samtycker¿ he would say which means ¿to remain silent is to consent¿




Even in later years in Merimbula and Korumburra he would do talks about the Middle East situation at the local RSLs.




He was an independent, big picture thinker. He was confident in his world view. Things were black and white, not shades of grey. He studied philosophy and logic at university and could use this to lethal effect. It could make things tense at times. He could be hard on those who loved him.




Before leaving Sweden he caused a stir on national TV. He disliked the biased press who would cut and edit interviews to suit their ¿socialist¿ agenda. So, when asked for an interview he insisted on a live broadcast. He then turned the tables by taking command of the interview and asking probing and challenging questions of the startled TV host. I¿ll never forget the room full of flowers and cards the next day from people who admired his courage and his candour.




His life was filled with adventure and travel. After WWII he was on the first ship from Europe to travel across the Atlantic and into The Great Lakes of the US. He made life-long friends in Michigan and became a honorary citizen of the City of Grand Haven. Our home wherever we lived, and we moved a lot, was always called Grand Haven. That friendship has proved the strength of time with myself and my daughters now good buddies with the next 2 generations of the Grand Haven clan.




Dad looked to the future. He never looked back. He left the comfortable and established position in Sweden when he thought politics there went too far left. He and mum explored the world and ultimately found what they liked in Australia.




Travelling through Tokyo in the late 60s he came across a Swedish massage parlour. With mum in tow he walked up the stairs and rang the bell. He said they were from the Swedish government and were inspecting Swedish establishments in Japan. No one doubted his authority. The startled staff took them in for tea with the madam whilst a flurry of activity occurred behind the scenes to ready the place for inspection. He had a larrikin streak and a quirky sense of humour.




Whilst a public figure in Sweden he was unknown in Australia. But his stature and magnetic personality were never in doubt. I remember we went to the opening ceremony for a major NSW attraction. We were mingling with the crowd awaiting the arrival of the NSW premier by helicopter. A posse of dignitaries made up the official welcoming party. The noise and wind swept through the crowd as the helicopter set down. The door opened and the premier stepped out. He surveyed the crowd and strode straight over to dad, who he just assumed was in charge, and extended his hand. Without hesitation, in front of rolling TV cameras, Dad shook hands with the premier and said in a loud, clear, authoritative voice. ¿Welcome Mr Wran¿. The official welcoming party looked on very confused.




Whilst proud of his heritage he didn¿t look down on others and had strong friendships with people from all walks of life. He connected with people directly. He had impact. People who attended his seminars say he changed their lives.




In later years his decisiveness and sense of adventure never waned. He fulfilled his dream and became an avid pilot. In his mid-70s he found and married Ai Hwa. In his 80s they sold their house in Merimbula, put their things in storage, and just drove off across the country to see where they would end up. And so they came to Korumburra some 10 or so years ago.




Before saying goodbye to dad I want to say thank you to Ai Hwa. She has done the most extraordinary job of looking after him and caring for him during the last few years and especially the last few months which were very challenging. There¿s no way he would have lived to 94 or had the quality of life, had he not found his second love with Ai Hwa.




In saying goodbye, I feel sad but also proud and relieved. Proud of who he was, what he managed to achieve and that he was my dad. Relived that he is now free from the burden and indignity of old age. That he can now rest in peace, or fly free like a bird. Thank you