A CARE home in Wellington helped a family thousands of miles away say goodbye to their loved one.

The team at Camelot House and Lodge, a dementia care home, with the help of funeral director Thomas Brothers, set up a live feed of the funeral of Hilton 'Vic' Lobert so his family in South America and Australia could be with him as he was laid to rest.

Hilton Lobert, known as Vic, was described as a well-loved father, brother and uncle. He grew up in Guyana, spent his early working life in the diamond fields, but in his late twenties he embarked on a period of self-education in electronics and in 1959 he migrated to the UK to pursue his engineering studies.

Somerset County Gazette:

Hilton Vic Lobert as a young man. 

In 1963, by which time Vic was working for the GPO, he married Dorothy. In1969 when the GPO was abolished he became a Post Office engineer, eventually moving over to BT until he retired in 1987 from the rank of assistant executive engineer.

During his retirement, he returned to Guyana to visit his family, and bought 10 acres of land where he proceeded to design and build his own home, Dorvic House.

Vic and Dorothy had two sons, Terence and Nicholas. Terry described his father as hard-working and very self-disciplined.

In recent years when Vic’s health declined he returned to the UK to receive care and support, moving into Camelot House last year.

After his passing, Richard Dempslake, activities co-ordinator at Camelot House and Lodge, liaised with Vic’s family, who asked him to read a eulogy on their behalf.

He said: “It was a privilege to make sure Vic had a good send-off, especially since his relatives are all so far away overseas.

“From the minute he came into our care, he was a joy to work with - a quiet but lovely man, very polite and gentle, with a warm smile and a perennial twinkle in his eye.

“Vic’s family were so grateful to see their loved one get the farewell he deserved, and they were touched to receive a recording of the service on DVD. We’d like to say a huge thank-you to Thomas Brothers for the co-operative way they worked with us."