Orford Primary School

                  Remembering Jayce

 Jayce Bourke attended Orford School for most of his primary school life.  He was a “lovable rogue”, full of mischief and great ideas and loved by all.  He died suddenly at the age of 14 and we would like to share some of our memories of him.
I taught Jayce for Grades 4, 5 and 6.  He was a natural daredevil and skilled athlete.  Everyone wanted to be on his team!  He thrived on outdoor activities, loved school camps and was the best rope swinger since Tarzan.  He would return from school after every weekend with fresh bumps, grazes and very impressive bruises that all told a story of the weekend’s adventures. Nearly every dog in Buckland must have bitten Jayce at some time! “The boy from the bush”, Jayce always wore his faithful Akubra with pride and managed to pull holes and threads in every piece of clothing he wore. 

"I'm just getting the ball, Mrs Read!"

"Who, us?"

Apart from adventure, motorbikes and playing cricket, one of Jayce’s big loves was food.  He once drank four successive cups of home-made zucchini soup and then asked if there was any left!  He was always to be found poking at the barbecue or lifting lids to ask, “Is it ready yet?”

Jayce loved doing practical things.  Jayce once wrote in a “mock” school report that he would get a lot more written work done if he spent less time looking for things he’d lost and sharpening his pencils!  He was a champion sportsman, admired for his ability and good sportsmanship.  Jayce invented and modelled the “Buckland River Freestyle”, which has become a major reason for our school’s successes in the pool.

"Are you watching the conductor, Jayce?"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

Not afraid to act or dance, Jayce was always where the action was.  He once led a line-dancing group on stage that resulted in all the Grade 1/2s (now Grade 6s and 7s) practising the same steps for weeks afterwards. When he went to the mainland for a long holiday with his grandparents, the other boys in his class felt lost.  They were so used to Jayce coming up with the good ideas for lunchtime fun.  When we later saw the photos he brought back showing him fishing with the natives, we knew he’d been in his element and hadn’t really missed us much at all.

Always kind and thoughtful, Jayce would be the first to help someone, or offer comfort or a joke when needed. He loved fixing things that had broken.  For a time we had a student with severe disabilities in our school.  Jayce was his best friend, the one who always had time to coax him into doing things and was always the other boy's number one choice for any activity.   

Jayce always looked forward to the day when his little brother Jack would be old enough to go to Kindergarten because Jayce really wanted to “do the big brother thing” and show him the ropes.


Jayce’s sense of humour, good-natured exuberance and helping hands will be very much missed by those who knew him. Jayce loved his family, loved his hometown of Buckland and loved life.

Leavers' Dinner 1999

by Fran Read  15/6/2002

 

Jayce Daniel John Bourke

Jayce Daniel John Bourke (Don) lived at Buckland for nine years.  He was fourteen and was in Grade Nine at Triabunna District High School.

 He went to Orford Primary School for his younger years and always had fun.  He loved getting into mischief and when he did, he always used to see the funny side of things.

On the weekends he enjoyed riding his Ag 100 trail bike and being Mr Fix It.  Jayce also had a blue Datson which he used to drive around in his paddock nearly every day and when it had something wrong with it he always used to find out what the problem was and fix it.  

He was very popular with the girls.  He always used to be triple dating and loved every second of it!  And do you know why that was?  It was because he was caring,, friendly and the BEST friend that you could ever wish for.

by Sam Castle and Jason Castle 17/6/2002

Memories of Jayce

Jayce Daniel John Bourke lived in Buckland for 9 years had a girlfriend called Emma Stagg. His friends would call him Don.  He would always wear his green Fox hat and jersey as well as his jeans.

In past years of Jayce's life he drove his Datsun and his Ag for a living and he cared for his family and enjoyed his hobbies. He had only just got his brand new bike which was a Planet –X Freestyle 180.  He loved it down to the ground and he wouldn’t even do jumps on it.

On the weekend Jayce would usually go to Scott’s and always sit on the step and also used to bring up pushbikes and motorbike videos.

by Anna Press and Laura-Kate Castle

Jayce

On the weekends Jayce would always be doing the biggest jumps the Castles had, and was always trying to do extreme stunts.

Jayce always had girl’s hanging around him. But Jayce loved Emma Stagg the most out of all the girls that would hang around him. 

Jayce would always be mucking around in the Datson and his old and new motorbikes. He would pull them apart but never put them back together.
He was like a father to Crystal and Jack because he was always being "the man about the house". He would fix anything they asked him to do.  Now they don’t have him I don’t know what they are going to do.  Adam (Slug) used to help Jayce but Jayce was better than Slug at fixing things.  .

by Sharni Dorloff    17-6-.2002

 

A Poem About Jayce

Jayce was a nice boy but a terror,

Always on that motorbike of his.

Your good mate and ours.

Comical? Definitely!

Emma Stagg loved him lots and still does.

 

Best friend to James, Scott, Riki, Ness and Karlie,

Over the moon he was when he got his motorbike,

Under the ground?  Never, according to his Mum.

Racing around on a motorbike in the sky,

Keep him in our hearts, everyone will.

Everyone misses him dearly. 

            By Bianca Walker

 

Jayce "Don" Bourke

Jayce was a great mate to all at Buckland.  He certainly made my boys' lives interesting, with never a dull moment.  Thanks, Don. There was never a day that went by when they didn't see each other.

Jayce had a cheeky smile.  We will all miss that!

He achieved a lot in such a short lifetime.  He lived life in the fast lane.  We will miss him knocking at our back door.

Forgetting you never.

xxxx

Jayne Press    18-6-2002

                                                             
 

Jayce

Jayce or "Don" as I knew him, was a great mate.  He was fun to be with and was always there when I needed him.  Everything we did was always fun and all we did was laugh.

We used to watch videos together, rode together (I rode my horse and he rode his bike), joked together and talked.  I could tell Don anything.  He was understanding and was loved by everyone.

These past few months we had grown closer and I am going to miss him heaps. You will be in my heart forever. RIP Don. xxxxx

Karlie Walker

Return to Orford Primary School Home Page



This site has been produced by Orford Primary School.  Its content has been authorised by the Principal. This page was last modified on:  19 April 2012 . Any questions or problems regarding this site may be forwarded to orford.primary@education.tas.gov.au .You are directed to a disclaimer, copyright and privacy notices governing the information provided.Orford Primary School is part of the Department of Education, Tasmania.