Clemente Zammit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Sacred Heart church, St Albans, wites:

When Lydia Gusman rang us early on Tuesday morning to pass on the sad news, my mind went blank on the instant. In shock, I could not even call her by name. I am still in denial and preparing this farewell to my best friend Noel hasn't been easy. The loss makes it almost impossible to put together the words that he deserves.

Anyone who had the fortune to know Noel up close, as I did, can attest to his loyal attachment to family and friends and beyond that to his two communities: the Maltese he was born in and the Italian in which he was bred. Within this environment, he lived life to the fullest, and took advantage of each and every minute, in the process always reaching out to help others.

Ever since one can remember, Noel made it his mission to share his love for music with others, a job he always seemed to accomplish with ease. Christmas will not be the same without him and his choir, nor will Il-Bambina, Id-Duluri and most of the many celebrations in honour of patron saints. Then again, without him, it is difficult to imagine being able to transform a meal round his darling Tonina's table, in an impromptu rendering of opera choruses from La Traviata, Nabucco, Aida, Il Trovatore or Cavalleria Rusticana. How can we ever measure the loss of such an extraordinary life that touched us all, family and friends alike?

When I confided in Noel, months before it happened, of my intention to retire from my position as Consul General of Malta for Victoria, he would have nothing of it. He kept insisting that I am "too young" to contemplate doing so. It was just not fair arguing with him to the contrary as he himself had decided to keep going to his last breath, as he did. It was also not fair considering that we both knew that we were closing the book on a chapter that had seen us working hand in hand on so many apparently insignificant initiatives that, however, we believed in and were to gain in relevance over the years.

I was very privileged to be the recipient of Noel's generosity and concern but I soon learnt that I was hardly alone in this. Through Noel I came to befriend his family and I held him in admiration for the way he loved his wife Tonina, his sons Joe and Vince, and his other relatives. But it did not stop there. Noel's family included his choir. In befriending him, Mary and I were drawn into a wider circle of friends. Too many to mention them all by name but all very special to us as they were to Noel; people he knew so intimately and loved.

Dear Noel, I know that you're still out there, living life with your kind of flair, standing with your face to the sun and picturing your time to come. Your heart and friendship are irreplaceable, which is why Mary and I will never forget you. You will be forever part of our lives. We love and miss you and wish you eternal rest in the arms of the God you loved and cried out to when you were troubled.

Saħħa ħabib and thank you for being a friend.