In life flamboyant businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was all glitz and glamour. Today he was buried in a simple pine box surrounded by just a few of his closest friends who remembered him as a ‘kind and trusting man’
- Geoffrey Edelsten was buried in an intimate ceremony on Wednesday
- The 78-year old died alone on Friday inside his Melbourne apartment
- Edelsten was remembered as a kind and caring doctor and medical pioneer
- One mourner said Edelsten was taken advantage of due to his trusting nature
- Edeslten was described as an ‘enigma’ and a man of ‘mystery, truth and colour’
Disgraced businessman Geoffrey Edelsten has been buried in a pine box during a traditional Jewish ceremony in Melbourne.
It was a simple farewell attended by just over 30 mourners, who gathered at his plot on Wednesday within the Jewish gardens of the Springvale Botanical Cemetery – southeast of Melbourne.
In life, Edelsten thrived on flaunting his enormous wealth, which he had achieved in the 1980s through revolutionising the way Australians visited the doctor.
Largely known in his later years for his marriages to American beauties Brynne Gordon and Gabi Grecko, Edelsten was surrounded by just a handful of his closest friends and family.
Geoffrey Edelsten takes his final trip at his funeral in Melbourne on Wednesday
Goeffrey Edelsten is lowered into the ground in a simple pine casket
Edelsten was remembered as a kind and caring doctor who was polite to everyone he met
Edelsten was found dead in his St Kilda Road apartment on Friday afternoon.
He had died alone after disappearing from the public spotlight he had embraced for much of his 78 years.
While there was speculation Edelsten would be sent off in a lavish affair, he ultimately was put to rest in a quiet and dignified service in line with his Jewish beliefs.
The disgraced doctor, who was jailed in 1990 for perverting the course of justice and soliciting Christopher ‘Mr Rent-a-Kill’ Dale Flannery to assault a former patient, was remembered for his kindness.
Edelsten had made his millions back in the 1980s after developing a medical computer system that revolutionised the industry.
His innovative and multi-disciplinary 24-hour medical centres would make him even richer.
Edelsten became a household name in 1985 when he bought the Sydney Swans AFL football team.
He would become a national disgrace just five years later when he was jailed over the Flannery scandal.
Two of his closest and longest friends paid tribute to Edelsten at today’s service.
Edeslten makes his final journey to his grave site on Wednesday
Mourners took turns to throw dirt onto Geoffrey Edelsten’s casket on Wednesday
Mourners gave Geoffrey Edelsten a traditional Jewish farewell on Wednesday in Melbourne
More to come