The sudden passing of Alex Ariston late last month has been devastating for all of us as his family.
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Alex was born of Russian heritage in Germany in 1944 during the war, and arrived in Australia in 1948 with his family, settling in Queensland.
He first arrived in Katherine during the 1960s, working at the local meatworks.
After moving into sales for several years around the Sydney region, he was enticed back to the north in the 1970s with another meatworks position, this time is Wyndham.
During the two years he lived in Wyndham Alex met his wife Petrena.
The couple moved to Queensland, where their two sons Stephen and Luke were born.
After living and travelling in a caravan selling Encyclopaedia Britannica for a short time, they eventually moved back to Katherine in 1979 as Alex was offered another meatworks position.
While bringing up their boys, Petrena and Alex became involved in the Katherine community, and there was nowhere else they would rather live to raise their kids and grandkids.
They have been in Katherine now for over forty years, but the last 22 years were dedicated to marking Katherine as a place to engage in Indigenous culture and history.
And so, Top Didj & Art Gallery was born.
Alex initially began the business in 1997 as "The Katherine Art Gallery'', with then business partner Cameron Shave.
The shop was located in the Commonwealth Arcade, specialising in didgeridoos and Aboriginal art from the region.
After the 1998 Katherine flood, they moved premises to Katherine Terrace with Alex's son Stephan joining the business.
When Cameron left Katherine, Alex created a new partnership with his wife Petrena, expanding to create and involve the Top Didj & Art Gallery on Gorge Road.
In 2009 they began the Top Didj Cultural Experience with local Indigenous artist and experienced tour guide Manuel Pampkal.
With lots of hard work to fill a gap in the tourist industry, the trio went on to win multiple tourism awards.
The business has now become a destination for tourists of the Katherine region and a unique experience for travellers from all parts of the world.
The feedback from the many visitors over the years has been so wonderful and they just keep coming back.
Creating cultural tourism with Manuel Pampkal and working with him for more than two decades has been a highlight of Alex's business and career.
The Top Dij Cultural Experience is a project where Aboriginal people are able to work and share their culture with Australia and the world. Although starting from humble beginnings by accepting donations from tour bus drivers, it has evolved into an award-winning tourist attraction today - a unique stop now for many, schools, families, and tour groups.
For years Alex had been dreaming of a new art gallery, and after a lot of work over six years it was finally coming to completion; the last piece of art hung in the new gallery only days before his passing.
In the last days of his life, he was so happy.
As usual, he was zipping around everywhere, busily completing jobs.
It was while he was chain-sawing up a tree that an aneurysm burst in his brain and he immediately lost consciousness.
And we were fortunate that we were able to all gather around him to say goodbye.
With help from all of us, Petrena and Manuel are determined to make Alex's dream come to life and aim to open the new gallery next dry season.
The Ariston family
A memorial service will be held for Alex on December 29 at 2pm at Top Didj Cultural Experience and Art Gallery
