It will be a memorable send-off for a young man gone way too soon, but who will be remembered for his gregarious presence. In short, he was a top bloke.
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That is the portrait painted of Johnboy Quinlin using the words of those who knew him best, in the wake of his death last month.
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The funeral of the beloved footballer on Friday afternoon will be manifestation of that affection, and a response to social-distancing laws: a multi-location happening that will be live-streamed on Facebook.
The format for the service will allow more people to say goodbye to Quinlin - given funerals in NSW are restricted to 50 people max, while public gatherings of up to 10 people are permitted.
The farewell will include a private service at the Armidale Seventh-day Adventist Church and then a guard of honour at several locations across the city.
Those locations include the home grounds of three clubs the 22-year-old code-hopper played for: the Armidale Rams, Barbarians and the Narwan Eels. The other location is Morris Street.
The procession of the hearse will leave the church at about 1.30pm.
The funeral will be lived-streamed on the Johnboy Quinlin Memorial Facebook page. As of Thursday morning, the page had more than 800 members.
The family's spokeswoman, Amie Cattell, the partner of Quinlin's brother, Phillip, said the outpouring of affection had been "overwhelming".
"There's just no words," she said. "Like, everyone [in the family] is so thankful ... It just goes to show how highly spoken of Johnboy was.
"He didn't have a bad bone in his body. Everyone that met him always come away with something positive from him."
