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Reginald George Piesse
died October, 1983
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"I want to know the circumstances surrounding my father's suicide"
- Anthony Piesse |
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Reg Piesse was known to have suffered from a nervous breakdown several years before, but to those who knew him, his death came as a complete shock. There were enough unanswered questions that Anthony decided to publicise his efforts to find out more information.
The wall of silence that the Exclusive Brethren maintain in such matters might possibly hint at why no suicide note was ever recovered, but it certainly had the effect of making Anthony's task almost impossibly difficult.
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 Transcript NZ Truth, October, 1983 Exclusive Brethren sect member Reginald George Piesse gassed himself to death last October. In broad daylight, Mr Piesse, 64, put a bag over his head and inhaled deadly exhaust fumes from his car, parked with the engine running in the driveway of his tidy home at 229 Cranford Street, Christchurch. At an inquest last month into Mr Piesse's death, little mention, if any, was made of his involvement with the Exclusive Brethren. Police say they are not aware of any note left by Mr Piesse. TROUBLED And no indication has been given that Mr Piesse might have been troubled by anything. No light has been thrown as to why, on October 14 last year, he waited until his wife had gone out before he took his own life. But now Mr Priesse's son, Anthony, wants to know why his father died. "I want to know the circumstances surrounding my father's suicide." Anthony Piesse told Truth from Palmerston North. Anthony - who, with his brother Craig and a sister, left the Exclusive Brethren some years ago - said he knew of no reason why his father should kill himself. "You know how difficult it is to get any information from the Brethren." he said. BREAKDOWN "My father had a nervous breakdown about two-and-a-half years ago. "I had some difficulty finding out about the funeral arrangements. "I went to the cemetery but kept away from my mother and relatives with the Brethren. "It would have caused trouble if I had approached my family. NON-EXISTENT "Since I've been out of the Brethren for the last 13 years, contact with my mother and father has been almost non-existent." said Mr Piesse. "I didn't really know what had happened to my father until after the inquest. They (the Brethren) didn't tell me. It came as a shock to find out." FRIENDLY Former Exclusive Brethren members who knew Mr Piesse told Truth he was an outgoing, friendly man who was good to get on with. One former sect member described him as "the last man you would expect to commit suicide." If you can add to this information please contact us.
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