To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.

Some of us present today may not know that twelve years ago, on Boxing Day, Renée suffered a very serious heart attack, followed later by a stroke so severe it left her unable to speak or move.  That’s hard to even imagine of her.   She was twenty-eight years old at the time and mother of twin boys, Harrison and Nicholai who, just three days earlier, had celebrated their fourth birthday.   We were devastated and scared at the thought of losing her.  But with excellent and swift medical care, coupled with Renée’s sheer determination to live, she made a full and complete recovery.   Her life was a beautiful gift and in return, she lived a life of giving, caring and compassion.   She was filled with child-like acceptance and love for everyone, and simply did not know how to hold a grudge.  She was a wonderful and devoted mother to her sons, she was so SO proud of them.  She adored her parents, and was forever expressing her appreciation for their love and kindness.

Renée’s excitement and dedication to the Crop Over and Grand Kadooment festivals were infectious; her Halloween costumes epic!  Renee loved children, and each year created and gave costumes to underprivileged children. With Re, it was all or nothing. She saw life in bright, vivid colours that are impossible to ignore.  She was no pastel shades sort of person. Her imagination and creativity were expressed in so many different ways, whether she was icing cakes, designing and making costumes, painting, decorating - she was creating, always creating - with her zest for fun, humour and fantasy.  Her photography was exquisite, she had an eye for detail and captured the essence of the moment. Renée made a statement, and it was hers, not to be forgotten.  She gave and she loved.  The overwhelming tributes that have poured in are testimony that she was loved in return.  We dearly hope she knew it.

Renée’s parents are touched and comforted by the heartfelt expressions of appreciation and sympathy that they have been receiving, and I share this one which encompasses what we all feel today:

 “Peter and Neilsa,
You raised an amazing daughter, unique in every way, and who was loved and loved wildly, madly and deeply in return. It is as if the most glorious and incomparable firework display has ended and we are just standing stricken, sad and silent, utterly lost in the magnificent energy that was. There is no doubt that we will not see its like again.”

Our family is spread over several different countries, but we share deeply in the loss of our vibrant, never-to-be-forgotten Renée.  My sister - her aunt Audrey-Mae - now living in Scotland, has written the following that so aptly describes what is in our collective hearts.