DOUGLAS, Colin William
Born Sunday February 02, 1936. Passed away Wednesday April 15, 2026.
Adored husband of Margaret. Loving Dad of Philip, Helen, Catherine, Mathew, Therese and Tim. Cherished father-in-law of Narelle, David, Jeff, Caroline, Jason and Deb. Treasured Pop to 19 grandchildren and Great Grandpop to 12 great-grandchildren.
‘Beloved Memories’
Funeral notice
The Funeral of Mr. Colin William Douglas will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Gellibrand Street, Colac on Thursday, April 23, 2026 with Prayers commencing at 11 a.m.
The Funeral will leave the Church at the conclusion of the Service for the Colac Lawn Cemetery.
For those unable to attend, CLICK HERE to view the live-stream.
Tributes
Leave a tributeTo the entire and extended Douglas Family, thank you for organising to Livestream this farewell service, a tribute and celebration of Uncle Col's marvellous life and legacy, for those of us who unfortunately could not participate in person.
Uncle Col once told me that he was very happy to leave the ATO, literally, for greener pastures -- and because he did not like the direction in which the Tax Office was heading. That is, its often unsympathetic treatment of farmers and small business people. I think Colin Douglas deserves an Order of Australia (or some equivalent Economic Development Medal) for the extraordinary generations (and large tax-paying, super-annuating numbers!) of fine Australians he and Aunty Marg have fostered and encouraged.
For me, I'll miss Uncle Col's remarkable interest in other people's stories, his sharing of experiential knowledge, his laconic Aussie-ness, his toolbox of funny and fascinating anecdotes and his humour -- especially that playful, zany, athletic slapstick he resorted to in games of beach cricket or picnic kick-to-kick.
Case in point: tennis-ball beach cricket near Johanna in 1982, the second Star Wars movie had just come out. Uncle Col is umpiring at square leg when one of the 'young kids' has cracked the ball close to his head. In one outrageous movement he has stepped aside, caught the ball, spun around and fired the ball into the stumps before the other batsman could get there.
"The Umpire Strikes Back!" he yelled.
We all lost it, one way or another. Me through tears of laughter. I feel a bit like that now ... but these tears celebrate Colin Douglas's triumphant game of life. Thank you, Uncle Col. I paid attention.
April 23, 2026 1:56 pm
To Margaret, Phil, Matt, Tim And Therese and families. Thinking of you all at this sad time. Colin was a lovely man. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Thinking of you all. I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to attend his funeral service.
With Love, Leanne Swain.April 23, 2026 11:51 am
Dear Margaret and all the Douglas family,
Our sincere sympathy to you all. We learnt a lot from Colin’s wise words over the years in the Otways. He was always philisophical about life and a good man.
Best wishes from Jan and Laurie Shaw.April 23, 2026 8:39 am
To Margaret, Therese and families, I'm so sorry to hear of Colins passing. Many many happy memories of Colin speaking his wisdom taking us to and from Ballarat in our boarding school days. He always spoke with love, concern, passion and honesty. He will be sadly missed. Thinking of you all. Sorry I can't be there for the funeral.
Love Janelle Flannagan and familyApril 21, 2026 9:06 pm
Deepest sympathy to the Family.
Colin will be dearly missed, will miss our morning chat’s. It was a pleasure to have cared for You. Fly high Colin.April 21, 2026 8:54 pm
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Margaret & family at this sad time.
As fellow farmers on the Blue Johanna Rd we enjoyed many a chat with Colin over the years. Your legacy and values will live on in your family.John & Carolyn Sinclair
April 21, 2026 12:50 pm
Fond memories of Colin during our time at Lavers Hill, a true and wise gentle man and gentleman.
Condolences to Margaret and Family.Mary (SA) & Lex (QLD)
April 20, 2026 10:49 pm
Sympathy to Margaret . Matt and family. It was a pleasure to get know Colin.Rest peacefully from Judy Swayn.
April 20, 2026 7:02 pm
Dear Uncle Colin you will always be in my heart. I have such fond memories of my childhood growing up at the block spending many a weekend there. The freedom we all had as children to roam and explore and the lessons you taught us all. We were so very lucky to have you in our lives. My boys will always remember the time they spent with you and Aunty Marg and the experiences they had. They got a glimpse of what my childhood was like with you and the Douglass. RIP dear Uncle Col. Cynthia 💓
April 20, 2026 6:01 pm
Such a wonderful gentleman with lots of great stories to tell over a cuppa . Thinking of you Marg, Therese,Phillip,Helen,Katherine,Matt ,Tim and families. Lots of memories made .My love to all. Bev.
April 20, 2026 9:07 am
Deepest sympathy to Margaret and family on the passing of Colin.
We always enjoyed our chats with Colin in the Otways over the years.
May Colin rest in Peace
Richard and Bernadette DawesApril 19, 2026 4:04 pm
To Margaret and family , sincere condolences on Colin’s passing . I have fond memories of cups of tea / coffee and cakes after unloading cattle / hay etc. We had many discussions on how to fix the countries problem ( at least in our opinion) .Rest peacefully Colin ..Barry Healey .
April 17, 2026 9:05 pm
Uncle Col, such a solid, consistent and intelligent man. You never shied away from a thoughtful debate, acknowledging your ‘components’ argument or opinion, not necessarily agreeing. Living by your values, with boundless generosity, certainly not lost on me as a young person watching from afar. Thank you for being the example of a fine and loyal family elder in my lifetime. Rest assured that I’ll continue to celebrate February 2nd each year with you in my thoughts, Joanne - QLD niece ♥️
April 16, 2026 8:26 pm