Terry Wickey never said a lot, but always smiled a fair bit. Tributes have poured in for the lovable family man, who died suddenly on Saturday night after he was punched outside the Ashmont Inn.
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Mr Wickey’s cousin, Stephen Smith, said he was a “champion”.
“Terry was a good, quiet bloke,” Mr Smith said. “He’d never hurt anyone and he was well-known in the community.”
In his younger days, Mr Wickey was a talented rugby league player, playing in the halves and as hooker for Turvey Park before the club was amalgamated into South City.
Former Turvey Park-Magpies president Dave Skinner said he was impressed by the quiet, standout player.
“I was a little bit shocked when I heard about Terry,” Mr Skinner said.
“He was quiet and easygoing, he never said much but he smiled a fair bit.”
Mr Wickey drifted out of football as he got older, but returned when his old club was in trouble.
“When we had our backs to the wall he came back to help,” Mr Skinner said. “He was very conscious of the community and when the chips were down he jumped in to help.”
Mick McCarthy coached Mr Wickey to a premiership win when he was a teenager and he also spoke highly of the man.
“He was very quiet and shy until you got to know him and then once you got around him he was a good young fella,” Mr McCarthy said.
“He had a small group of friends and kept to himself mostly. When I heard about what happened, it was unbelievable.”
Wiradjuri elder Aunty Isabel Reid said it was a really sad time for the family, which was also mourning the loss of Uncle Jacko Hampton, who had succumbed to a long illness on Sunday night.
“No one deserves to go out like that,” Aunty Isabel said of Mr Wickey.
“I watched him grow up, he was a pretty good little fella, this is just really sad.”
The Daily Advertiser invited Mr Wickey’s close family to be part of this story, but they declined at this time.