The most beautiful of brides, I remember the warmth of her happy smile, the excitement in her dancing eyes
When she married my brother, way back then. I recall the radiance, the infectious happiness of that wonderful day.
The pride, worn like a flag, on my brothers laughing, rugged face as he played, with wild passion, “The Golden Wedding” on the drums
as a  tribute to her at the reception on that special, special day.

The immense sense of family she generated through the years…in the good times and the bad.
The way she held it all together, raising the kids to have good solid values and an appreciation of being.
She taught them the goals of love and loyalty, she inured them with the knowledge that life was there to grasp
And that the capacity to have a good laugh at yourself was the key to happiness in every single day.

She weathered the storms of life, braving the trials of hardship and loss….but always holding family and friends to the tenant of her faith
….. that all would be well in the end.

She worked tirelessly all her life and when, in her final years, with her little body bent and arthritic, she revelled in the joy of reciprocated love from those nearest and dearest to her.

I recall, last year, the utter agony of a mother on her tear lined face, when she last stroked the cheek of her tragically, departed son, Darren.
The bravery, the incredible warmth, the strength in her heart and her tiny frame, when she circulated the crowd consoling others on that sad, saddest of days.

Now she is gone…..leaving a vacuum, impossible to fill. Leaving grieving husband, daughters, relatives and friends lamenting the departure of an incredibly special person.
Leaving us all with the memory of her quality, her goodness….and her ever shining eyes, the very key to her beautiful, glittering, Catholic soul.

Judy in the Sky with Diamonds,
Da-da-da-dah
Judy in the Sky with Diamonds,
Da-da-da-dah
*JUDY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS……
Da-da-da-dah
YEAH....EAAAGH!

M.
“Foxglove”
Tara­naki, New Zealand.