Now 86, Paul has been recognised for an incredible 69 years of service to the St Vincent de Paul Society, including 50 years of service in Jerilderie.
On Sunday, Paul received his 50-year honour from Bishop Mark Edwards, with his wife Judy by his side and St Vincent de Paul support staff travelling from Wagga Wagga and Albury to attend the special presentation.
Paul’s association with Vinnies began long before his Jerilderie days.
He was just 17 when he first joined the society in Berrigan, continuing his involvement during several years in Melbourne.
After Paul, and Judy married in 1968, the couple made Jerilderie home and it wasn’t long before Paul became involved with the local St Vincent de Paul branch.
In those days, the Jerilderie branch had strong membership and played an important role in supporting people who found themselves doing it tough.
Judy remembers that in their early years in town, Paul would assist with individual cases, including people passing through Jerilderie who simply needed a little help to get further down the road to the next town.
Sometimes that help became particularly personal.
“We had the odd one or two extra dinner guests from time to time,” Judy recalled.
Paul was also instrumental in establishing the St Vincent de Paul shop in Jerilderie.
Judy recalls there was some resistance from the Wagga office at the time, but Paul was convinced the shop was something the community needed and persisted with the idea.
Time has certainly proven him right.
The Jerilderie Vinnies shop has since become a familiar part of the community, providing affordable goods while continuing the society’s wider mission of supporting people experiencing hardship.
Parish member Louis Kelly said the work undertaken by Paul and St Vincent de Paul over the years had provided an important “safety net” within the community, helping ensure people were supported before they could fall through the cracks.
While membership of the Jerilderie branch was once thriving, numbers gradually declined as long-serving members grew older.
Through all those changes, Paul’s commitment to the values of the society remained.
There is something particularly special about looking back at 69 years of service and realising that behind that number are countless individual moments; a meal shared around the Ryan family table, a helping hand to get someone to the next town, a conversation, some practical assistance or simply being there when someone had nowhere else to turn.
Paul began volunteering as a 17-year-old in Berrigan and, 69 years later, at the age of 86, the community he has called home for more than half a century is celebrating an extraordinary contribution.
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