Life Stages: 'We learned so much about my father-in-law after he passed away'

Life Stages is 9Honey's latest series that aims to find out when people made their biggest purchases (and sales!) and the journey along the way.

Serena Brennan's father-in-law Bernard sadly passed away in January at age 78.

Suffering complications from a health condition he'd been battling for years, Bernard left behind his wife Jan, his children, grandchildren — and a home full of unique memories.

"He was a great hunter, lover of travel and a massive explorer. He was basically a lover of collecting antiques," Serena tells 9Honey.

RELATED: 'The invaluable savings tip Mum gave me when I was 15'

Bernard lived in the Sydney suburb of Cammeray his entire life, moving from his childhood home at age 23 to a house around the corner where he spent the remainder of his years.

"He never moved out because he built a home filled with the most prized possessions," Serena explains.

Between raising three children who he regularly "took camping and fishing", Serena reveals Bernard, a telecommunications engineer by trade, would use amateur radios to talk to people around the globe.

"He would sit in his room while my husband Sean watched him, just talking to random people around the world," she shared.

But his curiosity couldn't be satisfied with just a nightly call; Bernard also loved to travel, and collect antiques along the way.

From safaris in Africa to fishing trips in New Zealand, Bernard was a hunter and stuffed some of his catches.

"He had dozens of guns for hunting, and all of his best fish were taxidermied. He even had eight different animal heads that he kept," Serena says, adding: "Of course, hunting was more 'Kosher' back then."

Since Bernard's death, his family has spent months organising the room where he stored all his memories and collections, researching everything he had collected.

The family's aim, she explains, is to give all his collections a new home.

"We want to do his memory justice and pass these items onto people who will appreciate them as much as he did," Serena explains.

"He had thousands of books, and after contacting a few book buyers, we made a few thousand from one."

From selling Bernard's collections, the family has been able to support his wife Jan.

"It was a big job to try and sort out," Serena says.

"But it's given my mother-in-law some support in his passing, and a great experience of understanding everything he loved in the process."