Christmas won’t be the same following the death of one of Santa’s best-known Border helpers.
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Hundreds attended Friday’s funeral for Mike Bodman, 70, of Wodonga, whose white beard and love of the festive season made him a favourite Santa Claus throughout Albury-Wodonga.
Mr Bodman first wore the red suit in the mid-1970s while posted to Papua New Guinea with the army and had continued to suit up ever since.
He and his wife of 46 years, Alison, lived in Perth and Bendigo before arriving in Wodonga about 30 years ago.
Their first Border Christmas Mr Bodman was asked to play Santa and from then on he would appear at up to 35 functions a season.
“Our bookings started from March,” Mrs Bodman said.
“Sometimes we had three in one day.
“We used to go from Rand to out past Table Top, up to Corryong.
“He never did it for money.
“He did it out of generosity.”
The pair would also drive through Albury and Wodonga’s main streets, the red and white SANTA-7 number plate prominent and a sleigh trailer adding to the spectacle.
A few years ago Mrs Bodman’s role expanded beyond driver and she became a regular Mrs Claus.
“If the little ones wouldn’t go to him, they would come to me, he’d talk to them while they were on my knee,” she said.
Family members noticed Mr Bodman always became happier as Christmas approached and had been shattered when an urgent operation – that he wanted to postpone – saw him miss out on the red suit two years ago.
He retired from the army 25 years ago and, when not helping Santa, enjoyed bowls, darts and photography.
With his beard lasting all year, Mr Bodman couldn’t even walk down a Phuket street in May without being hailed as Santa Claus.
Daughter Lee-Anne Price told Mr Bodman’s funeral her father wore his Santa suit with great pride.
“We loved the excitement you brought to the very young and the joy to the elderly and everyone in between,” she said.
“It’s like you took on a superhero existence, waving and ringing your bell at everyone.”
Once, dining out, two children were convinced Mr Bodman was Santa, despite their mother’s denials.
“Then on your way out of the club, you walked over, said, ‘Ho, ho, ho’, and the two little kids turned to their mum and said, ‘I told you so, Mum’.
“If you noticed a little kid staring at you, you would walk up and just say quietly, ‘Are you on my good boy list?’
“The kids’ chins would hit the floor and their eyes wide open.
“This was your favourite part of helping Santa, you brought the magic back.”
Mr Bodman, who died on May 25, is survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren.
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