We had the farewell service for Nelly on her birthday, an intimate and moving thanksgiving for her life. Nelly had
a small family, which was helpful under the circumstances as we could have a small
choir as well. The total number of people present did not exceed 30. Nelly apparently
had prepared herself for this, for she had chosen the hymns and anthem she
would like to be sung. We are grateful that we could
have the service and the music she had wished for. Perhaps, being with a small
number of people, any service feels more intimate. For us as a choir, Nelly’s
passing is the end of an era. As mentioned before, she had been a choir member for almost 60 years. With
Wies, who passed away a few years earlier, she formed a strong team. They were the
mistresses of the robes, always seeing to it that every chorister was provided
with a fitting robe, mending, lengthening and shortening them as required. They
told us to launder our whites so that they looked clean and fresh at Christmas
and Easter. They saw to it that we wore black shoes and no sneakers, and that
the men wore a white shirt with a tie underneath their robes, or a white scarf. They were a formidable pair, and also organized
the choir flea market, an annual highlight. After Wies died, Nelly could no
longer do this alone, or at all, as her health had always been precarious. But
she never stopped making coffee and tea in the break during choir practices, or feeling responsible for the robes. We will all miss her, each in our own way. But within its limitations, the
farewell service was moving, intimate and graceful, thanks to Andrew and Christina
and all the others who made it possible in these unusual times.
She crossed that bridge away from us towards the light, and was
laid to rest in Westduin, a very peaceful cemetery.
In Paradisum
deducant te Angeli
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