RUGBY LEAGUE: Those who are familiar with the history of the Queanbeyan Blues will know of the name Doug Crampton, the club great who represented Monaro and went on to play NSW Country level footy in the 1970s, but to his family and friends he was simply a "beautiful man".
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Doug passed away on June 4, aged 69, after suffering a long period of sickness, surrounded by his wife of almost 43 years, Lindy and children, Dean, Bec and Katy.
"My Dad passed away knowing he was loved and we lost him knowing he loved us," Doug's son Dean read at his eulogy.
Family and friends packed St Raphael's Catholic Church, Queanbeyan on Thursday, June 11 to celebrate his life, not just as a fantastic rugby league player but a loving husband, father of three, grandfather of nine and friend to all.
"I was overwhelmed by the love, kindness and response from everyone," Doug's wife Lindy said.
The former Blues five-eighth grew up in Tumut and had three passions in life: "football, family and friendships," according to Dean.
He played his debut first grade match for the Tumut Blues at age 19, where he played for three years- he was named in the Tumut Blues team of the century.
Doug also played a year with the Too-woomba All Whites in the Queensland comp-etition and a year in Bathurst, where he was the leading point scorer for a period of time, Dean said.
"The refs missed the late tackle, but not the elbow thrown in retaliation, he was suspended for long enough for another player to take over the lead from him," he said.
It was then that Doug was asked to play for the Queanbeyan Blues. He played seven seasons from 1969 to 1975- being coached by the likes of Don Furner. He played in the grand final in all years except 1972.
While playing for the Blues he played for Monaro and was selected as the five-eighth for Country Seconds to play Sydney Seconds at the SCG, and then also selected to play for Combined Country. He also trialed with the Probables v the Possibles for a position in the Australian World Cup team.
Doug was involved with a number of sports, coaching rugby league teams from in and around Canberra- including the Queanbeyan Blues under-18s to a premiership in 1978 and he coached Dean's representative basket-ball team to third place in the state taking out the Snowy and Barrengarry Conferences.
He had a number of jobs, including cellarman at the Queanbeyan Leagues Club, worked on ACTION buses for 25 years and was a member of the Rotary Club of Queanbeyan West and Men of League.
But for his children, Doug was much more than that, Dean explained.
"At his best Dad was a quick-witted man, with a comeback for everything, cheeky till the wee hours of the morning, a supportive son, brother, father and a bloody good mate to many," he said.
"He was a very good listener and broke things down to simplify issues. If you have a problem, fix it, if you like someone, show it, if you need help, ask for it, if you can give help, bloody well give it."
Doug's eldest daughter Bec said he was a "beautiful man- so kind and gentle", adding he was "loved by so many."
In her poem about her Dad entitled, Father, his youngest child Katy said she was always proud to say "Yep, Dougy Crampton, that's my Dad."
"We all know he was one beautiful man, that is what makes his story so sad.
"You know what, you weren't just my Dad, you were a bloody good friend."
The Crampton family would like to thank the Queanbeyan Leagues Club and the Queanbeyan United Blues and Doug's many friends for their support.