Jennifer Pittorino and Hannah Hammoud
Proud western suburbs son, the late Les Twentyman will be honoured with a state funeral on April 16.
Mr Twentyman died on March 30, aged 76.
Growing up in the suburb of Braybrook, Mr Twentyman used his upbringing to dedicate his life to helping young kids from the western suburbs suffering from disadvantage.
The Les Twentyman Foundation works to engage young people with their education, families and community.
His dedication to his community and the youth led him to receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1994 for his service to youth as an outreach worker.
Les Twentyman Foundation chief executive Paul Burke said the state funeral is an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the life of a “truly great Australian.”
“As we farewell Les we need to remember that he was not someone to stand on ceremony. Les was a rebel, who loved a laugh. loved a red and loved the west,” Mr Burke said.
“Les was larger than life and would want us to come together in celebration of a life well lived, to share in his stories and to acknowledge the incredible legacy he leaves – a legacy of helping those in need that will continue through the foundation he created.”
In his spare time, Mr Twentyman had a love for sport, working as a PE teacher earlier in his career and was a premiership coach and past player at the Albion Football Club.
The Albion Football club took to Facebook to extend their condolences to the “revered” former A Reserve 1975 premiership coach whose football journey began at the club at the early age of 14.
“Les was not only a coach but also a remarkable individual who selflessly contributed to the betterment of the community, leaving a mark through his unwavering commitment and generosity to those less fortunate,” the statement read.
The Sunshine Football also paid their respects to Mr Twentyman.
“Along with the wider community and especially the western suburbs, the Sunshine Football Club is deeply saddened with the passing of Les Twentyman. Not only was he a past player, having played under 18’s at our club, but he was a hardworking supporter of the youth of our community, setting up programs to ensure that all young people from the west got a chance to succeed.
“… May your legacy live on.”
The state funeral will be held on Tuesday, April 16, at 10.30am at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne. The funeral will be open to the public and the service will be livestreamed online.
Premier Jacinta Allan said Mr Twentyman’s devoted his lifetime to helping others.
“His passion and hard work changed lives, and his legacy will always live on in the young Victorians he fought for and believed in,” she said.
The family of Les Twentyman have requested that in lieu of flowers that a contribution be made instead to the Les Twentyman Foundation to help ensure that his life work in helping young people continues for generations to come – those who wish to make a donation can do so by heading to ltfoundation.com.au/donate.
