Chelston “Pepe” Lord’s knees buckled under the weight of his grief as he stood to pay tribute to his murdered daughter at her funeral yesterday morning.
Addressing scores of mourners inside and outside the sanctuary of New Dimensions Ministries in Barbarees Hill, St Michael, the visibly distraught and tearful father broke down and had to be supported off the platform after expressing the pain he felt at knowing he would never realize his “crowning joy” of walking his daughter down the aisle and giving her away in marriage.
“I can’t do that now,” he lamented through tears.
While Patrina’s mother Clovina sat sobbing quietly, her former husband, his voice at times breaking amidst tears, stated: “Probably my biggest regret now is that she did not give me a grandchild who would now be a constant reminder of her.”
“I?love you with every fibre of my veins. RIP,” were Lord’s farewell words to the daughter who he said “totally lit up my life”.
There was wide representation of the many areas of life that Patrina touched, with attendance by several members of staff from the Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd where both she and her mother once worked, schoolmates and others from her alma mater Alexandra School, and employees of LIME.
Church ushers, armed with boxes of tissues, were kept busy helping to dry the many wet eyes throughout the church.
Patrina’s twin sister Patricia, sitting close by their mother, followed the proceedings with tears streaming down her face, at times being consoled and assisted by an unidentified woman dressed in white uniform.
In her contribution to the eulogy read by Franklin Browne, Patricia submitted “my sister was special in many ways; we shared many great moments together . . . . She was talented . . . she was simply the greatest”.
The eulogist, while painting a picture of a much admired young woman who loved life, also sought to give comfort to those mourning the loss of the 31-year-old, whose body was discovered in a cart road in Content, St Thomas, November 7 after she had been reported missing a few days before.
“We will all need to hold hands and walk step by step in solid support of each other. We are all in this together.”
Browne spoke of “the gentle, considerate and well mannered young lady” whom her mother described as “a most caring loving daughter”, who “was taken away suddenly at a time when she was trying to advance her education”.
“Life is not measured by its length. Life is measured by the impact it makes on the lives of others. Today let us hold on to the belief that out of what happened hundreds of lives will be turned around, and that hundreds of people will be set on a brand new positive course,” he reassured the mourning.
“What has happened, has happened. We cannot change it now,” he said as he urged mourners to draw on the Serenity Prayer for consolation.
The address, inspired by a passage from the Book Of Job, was delivered by Reverend Hugh Sandiford, who was assisted in conducting the funeral service by Reverend Dr Marcus Lashley and Pastor Carmeta Small.
At the end of the service the casket, which remained closed throughout, was taken away for private cremation to take place “at a later date”.
