A Fabulous Farewell To An Amazing Lady

29 Jun 2014 8 Comments

by Nikki in Caring Compassion Tags: , , ,

As fabulous as a funeral can be!

When a dear friend passes away, it is a sad time and when it happens quickly shock hits you hard.

A very dear friend of my parents, made a rapid departure from the earthly plain.

40 years of very close friendship gone in the blink of an eye.

Anne was an amazing women that you simply could not dislike. The life of every party, the organizer of many a soiree, and never without a glass of bubbles or red in her hand in her hand except for breakfast!

Having lived an amazing life, right to the very last minute, at 84 she was gone in a flash, thankfully without years of pain and suffering.

She enjoyed every minute of her life, and so her funeral had to reflect how she lived.

And so it was…..

beach funeral

No church, hall or crematorium, just her favourite place on earth, the beach!

No coffins, hearses or pallbearers, just family, friends and sunshine.

beach funeral flowers

There were flowers, photo’s and a celebrant. Lovingly delivered speeches by those closest to her. There were tears but also lot’s of smiles as some of her more hilarious moments were remembered.

At the end of the service, we all walked down to the water’s edge to throw flowers into the ocean.

celebrate with champagne

And there was bubbles, and wine and delectable nibbles, served at a stunning home, generously provided by good friends.

As the sun went down over the stunning scenery, we laughed, joked, remembered, cried and drank some more.

Anne’s family live all over the country and it usually takes a wedding or a funeral to bring them all together in one place. Some of them I had not seen since we were children playing and going to ballet classes in Papua New Guinea. They have married and have had children that are all grown up. A whole new family has joined my Facebook feed.

Anne, we did our best to give you a farewell that was totally in sync with your life.

I think we did good!