A warm, selfless, strong, giving person who had a bigger than life personality and made time for everybody.
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That’s the way Woodberry woman Dawn Rosalie Gilbert has been remembered after her death on September 20, aged 70.
Dawn touched the lives of many through her efforts in establishing the Victims Of Crime Assistance League Inc NSW (VOCAL).
Unfortunately, she started the group through the sort of heartbreak no parent should have to experience.
On March 8, 1988, Dawn’s daughter Tracey was shot in the head from point-blank range by her ex-boyfriend while she was working at a Woodberry hair salon. She was 19.
But Dawn turned that grief into something positive.
In November 1989, she called a public meeting at Beresfield Bowling Club, which attracted hundreds of people.
Out of that meeting came the creation of the VOCAL, which aimed to support victims of crime and lobby for change in the justice system.
Geoff Jay was the first chairman of VOCAL, having met Dawn when she came on his radio show following Tracey’s death.
Geoff said Tracey’s murder was one of several high-profile cases in the late 1980s that “struck a public nerve”.
“There was lots of discussion around the justice system,” he said.
“Not just the sentencing but a lot of victims felt totally dismissed by the system.
“Because it was the state against the perpetrator, the victims were left to their own devices. There was no one to inform them, no one to console them.”
VOCAL helped push for stronger sentencing and was even a catalyst in the creation of the Victim’s Impact Statement.
But it was Dawn’s commitment to supporting other victims in her 10 years with VOCAL that really stood out to Geoff.
“I don’t know how she did it,” he said.
“There were times she would pull all-nighters talking to victims around the country on the phone.
“She had a heart bigger than Phar Lap. She was an amazingly strong advocate.”
But more than that, Geoff said she was a terrific person.
“She was engaging, funny, super passionate,” Geoff said. “She didn’t take herself too seriously. There was something about her, you warmed to her.”
One person who joined VOCAL was Kay Griffith after her friend Sandra Millward was murdered in 1993.
Kay formed a close friendship with Dawn through the group, and said it was hard to put into words what kind of person Dawn was.
“She helped everybody, she never said no to anyone,” Kay said. “She was just a wonderful, wonderful human being.”
Even after her death, Dawn has continued to help people. At her funeral on Thursday her family asked for donations to VOCAL in lieu of flowers.
Dawn is survived by husband Barry. She was a much loved mother and mother-in-law to Darren, Tracey (deceased), Kylie and Jason, Lynda and Cherie and adored nan of Mitch, Grace, Keely, Nick, Macey, and Benjy.