Thursday, 10 February 2022

Roger Lakkis

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (10:13): The Parliament break provided an opportunity to celebrate Jesus’s birth and to welcome in a new year. But it was sad for me because I lost my dear friend Roger Lakkis, who was born on 21 March 1948 and passed away on 22 December 2021. He was one of my closest friends. He was a great businessman and a great entrepreneur.

After migrating from Lebanon, he made a significant impact on the Victorian business community. Many would know of his work. In 1999 he started Alf’s Cafe at the Alfred hospital, where he rejuvenated the way people ate in the cafes at the hospital. He brought in a red, amber and green lighting system to provide healthy options. He transformed the way that cafes were run. He then went on to do that again at the Austin Hospital, at the children’s, at Bendigo and at Sunshine. He was a kind man. He gave jobs to people who needed them, he helped new arrivals and everybody loved him. They called him Mr Roger or Uncle Roger.

Almost every day Roger and I would see each other, call each other or text each other. People exploited him, they stole from him, they cheated him and he forgave them. Roger got COVID. He was in the ICU, he was on a ventilator and he never recovered. I did not get to say goodbye to him. I miss him. I loved him dearly, and on his phone he still has an unanswered text message from me. He lives on through his five beautiful children, and I send them my love. I know my friend Roger and I will see each other through our shared beliefs in God’s kingdom. Vale, Roger Lakkis.