EXCLUSIVE
Two themes dominated Aaron Nable’s packed funeral on Tuesday: the enormous heart of the man they had all come to say goodbye to, and the cruelty of the disease that cut his life short.
Hundreds of mourners filled every pew at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches for a service that lasted over an hour and a half.
There were familiar faces from the worlds of football, boxing and entertainment, but as it had always been for the father-of-three, family and friends were first and foremost for his final farewell.
The wider public came to know Aaron through his brother Matt, a former first-class rugby league player for Manly and Souths who became an acclaimed actor and author.
Actor Matt Nable was joined by hundreds of mourners to say goodbye to his younger brother Aaron, who died of motor neurone disease earlier this month
Fox Sports host and Nable family friend Matty Johns attended the service at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Manly on Tuesday
Aaron Nable was diagnosed with MND in July 2020 and died on March 3. He is pictured with brother Matt
When Aaron was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in July 2020, Matt began to speak openly about the devastating fate that awaits all those it strikes.
The motor nerve cells in the brain of a patient with MND break down, gradually weakening the body’s muscles and causing paralysis until he or she dies.
“This disease, what it does, is just the hardest thing to watch,” Matt said last year.
The Nable family launched a GoFundMe appeal which has raised more than $100,000 for MND research and to help support Aaron’s children and partner.
Aaron, who had been an Australian amateur boxing champion at 19, died on March 3 aged 46 as the NRL prepared to play its season-opening matches in Las Vegas.
Matt had recorded a promotional video for the blockbuster double-header last year as one of the voices of rugby league for Fox Sports.
Rugby league great NRL commentator Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach was among the mourners
Legendary boxing trainer Johnny Lewis helped guide Aaron to an Australian amateur boxing title
Penrith NRL coach Ivan Cleary (above) and Matt Nable both played for the Manly Sea Eagles
Among the mourners on Tuesday were former rugby league representatives Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach, Geoff Toovey, John Hopoate and Phil Blake.
Also in attendance were Fox Sports colleagues of Matt’s, including presenter Matty Johns, CEO Steve Crawley and Aaron’s old boxing trainer Johnny Lewis.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary attended the gathering, as did footballer-turned-boxer Garth Wood and his brother Nat, who played in the NRL and Super League.
Ex-detective Gary Jubelin, whom Matt portrayed in Underbelly: Badness, was there, as was Thomas Keneally, Booker Prize-winning author and Matt’s writing mentor.
Fr John Hannon welcomed the congregation, which he said was the largest the church had held since Christmas, to what he called both ‘a celebration of a good man’s life’ and ‘a very sad occasion’.
The priest was the first speaker to mention MND, revealing that it had killed his own father.
Fr. John Hannon called the funeral both ‘a celebration of a good man’s life’ and ‘a very sad event’. Matt Nable is pictured hugging a mourner
John Hopoate (above) played rugby league for Manly, NSW, Tonga and Australia
Former Manly player and coach Geoff Toovey was among those who came to pay their respects on Tuesday
Matt, who starred in Australian film The Dry and Hollywood war film Hacksaw Ridge, spoke of Aaron as a son, brother, friend, partner and parent.
“His love was great,” he said. ‘He was one of the best I’ve ever known.’
Matt remembered a waterfront worker and a strong union man who defended those weaker than himself and had an innate urge to care for the marginalized.
“What Aaron saw more clearly than most were the inequalities of life,” Nable said.
‘He was in your corner. He had your back and you were never in doubt how much he loved and cherished you.’
Aaron’s partner of almost a decade, Aline, spoke through her immense grief of an ‘extraordinary man’ who had given her more love than she ever thought possible.
She described a character imbued with magnetism who loved politics, hated injustice and lit up a room with her ‘sparkling blue eyes’.
Footballer-turned-boxer Garth Wood (above) once knocked out Anthony Mundine in the ring
Aaron died as the NRL prepared to play their season-opening games in Las Vegas
The queue to sign a book of condolence for Aaron Nable stretched onto a nearby road
Aaron, she said, deeply loved his parents Kris and David, older siblings Rebecca, Damien, Matt and Adam, and most of all sons Luca, Benjamin and Francisco.
Aline called him her ‘co-pilot’.
“I want you to remember Aaron like I do,” she said. “The kindest man on earth.”
Aline said she didn’t realize how cruel MND was until she saw what it did to Aaron’s body. It stole his ability to walk, talk and swallow.
“No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t take MND away from him,” she said.
Aaron died peacefully at home with his children, partner, parents and siblings taking turns holding his hands in his final moments.
Nat Wood (above) played for Balmain, Sydney City and the New Zealand Warriors before a stint in the Super League
Josh Stuart (in black) played for North Sydney and the Northern Eagles
Aline thanked all those who had cared for Aaron by name, including Professor Dominic Rowe from Macquarie University’s Department of Neurology.
“Aaron, my darling, I love you and I will always cherish every moment we shared together,” she said.
‘Thank you all for remembering Aaron and for being here to celebrate the life of a truly remarkable man.’
Aaron’s sister Rebecca said that when her ‘Azza’ was no longer able to speak, he used a special wink to tell her ‘I love you’.
“He was a true warrior, a hero,” she said. ‘I am so very proud to be your sister. Always and forever I love you.’
For a fighter who had been so physically tough, Aaron spent his childhood being afraid of everything from the dark to the Devil and funnel spiders.
Fr John Hannon said he had not seen so many people at Mary Immaculate Church since Christmas
Matt Nable remembered his brother as a man who stood up for those weaker than him and had an innate urge to care for the marginalized
As an adult, he ended every text or phone call to family and friends by saying he loved them.
Aaron’s biggest role had been fatherhood and Matt said the family wanted to make sure “the boys will never have any doubts about who he was”.
“He enjoyed nothing more in his life than being a father,” he said. “And nothing was more important.”
Matt called MND a ‘terrible, terminal disease’ with ‘no hope of recovery, no doubt you will die’.
The Friday before Aaron died, Professor Rowe told Matt that his brother could no longer be fed because his body would not absorb food or water.
Professor Rowe said Aaron was the toughest person he had known and that there was ‘daylight’ between him and the second strongest.
“He said, ‘Son, he’s at the end now, but I’ll tell you this: I’ve never come across a patient like your brother.’
At the end of the service Fr Hannon invited mourners to the Harbord Diggers for a wake with a fitting final line: ‘I hope it’s big enough’.