A TRAGIC accident took the life of a well-loved Wauchope man last week.
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Jonathan Russell Clucas, 24, lost his life when the tow truck he was a passenger in, collided head-on with a prime mover south of Kempsey on the evening of December 8, 2005. Jonathan had lived in the Wauchope area since his family arrived in 1982 and it was there that his love of all things with motors began, discovering tractors, quad bikes and ride-on lawn mowers.
Jono, as he was known by friends and family, was the proud owner of his very own Peewee 50 before he was five.
Jono's parents, Kim and Russell Clucas, brother Daniel and sister Jessica, along with his grandparents, Nell and Jim Clucas and Margaret and John Rawson are all residents of the Hastings area.
His proud family have written these words in tribute to Jono, a man of "immeasurable love and an endless smile".
"Jono finished high school in Wauchope and went on to complete a horticulturalist course while working at Thrumster Nursery. He realised his passion for cars and saw his career path take a new direction, when in 1999 he began an auto-electrical apprenticeship with First Class Auto Electrics in Wauchope.
The Paulson family-run business embraced their new apprentice and nurtured his natural talent for all things auto-electrical.
It was in this profession that Jono demonstrated his meticulous attention to detail and on every job took careful pride in his workmanship.
The crew at First Class Auto Electrics, took the 5" 2' Jono under their wings and in short time became a little family.
In January 2000, a new venture for the Clucas family saw the opening of 'Fluke Indoor Skatepark', Port Macquarie.
Jono and Dano, along with the "boys", were there from morning till night, work permitting, falling down, scraping skin, breaking bones, having a wonderful time and occasionally pulling off some awesome "flukes"!
In the spring of 2004, Jono met Amie Rushford of Maitland, fondly known as Aims. For Jono, it was love at first sight ù good thing it was mutual!
Their love blossomed over the next year and on April 24, 2005 Jono took the plunge and asked Aims to marry him.
Once the date was set, the two of them set about to meticulously plan, not only the wedding, but their future lives together, even down to the boy and girl twins they hoped to have in August 2007. Jonathan's grandmother, Margie, is a twin and they'd hoped to carry on this tradition.
In July of this year Jono and Aims moved into their first home in Colonial Circuit, Wauchope.
It was here that many a morning was spent watching Dragon Ball Z, and evenings filled with Jackie Chan DVDs, fairy floss, Maltesers and popcorn.
Their motorbike revving doorbell brought a smile to the faces of their many visitors and all who dropped in were welcomed with love.
Although Jono has left us we will remember with such fondness his generosity of spirit, love for animals and children, his amazingly affectionate nature, but most of all for the brilliant smile that lit up the room and filled all who knew him with joy."