More than 500 mourners paid their last respect to Serena de Sousa (17) during a ceremony that was charged with raw emotions and gut-wrenching moments.
Tears flowed freely and an overbearing air of disbelief filled the St Dominic’s Catholic Church in Welkom on Sunday, 13 July.
Serena’s father, Alby (Alberto) de Sousa, was grief-stricken.
Throughout the ceremony he was seen shaking his head as grief continuously wracked his body. The death of his beloved daughter was impossible to accept.
The beautiful eulogies read by Serena’s sister, Kyara, and friends brought tears to the eyes of many a mourner. Cherished moments shared were met with smiles and even a small laugh in-between.
Serena was known as a child who shone love and compassion to all who met her. The joy she permeated is the legacy she leaves behind.
Serena was born on 10 November 2007 in Mediclinic Welkom. She was a 13-week premature baby and from the onset of her short life she was a fighter.
In her funeral letter her father wrote: “Serena, you have been taken away from us way too soon. We are going to miss that beautiful smile, that crazy laugh of yours and that wonderful impulse of life. You had so much to give. You were our little Angel, you had so much faith, more than all of us put together.
“We were really blessed to have you in our lives and will cherish you but as much as we needed you, God, our Father, needs you now, his missing Angel. Please stay close to Kyara – she needs her guardian angels now more than ever.
“Fofa, we love you so much and miss you dearly. I am so proud to have been your father. Till we meet again my Angel. With all of my heart and soul, lots of love – Daddy.”
Likened to a mustard seed, Serena was described as emotionally beautiful and spiritually powerful by Father Ernest Mwape, who knew her very well.
“She was a fighter and fought for what she truly believed in,” he said.
She had a huge impact on her community in her short time on earth. He shared the memory of her bubbling and infectious personality with the mourners. He emphasised her deep love for God, and her fellow man. “We have come to bid farewell to a blessed saint. She is now an angel in a safer place. We honour her memory.”
Serena was a learner at the St Dominic’s College in Welkom. “Serena was a cherished part of our school family – a gentle soul with a bright spirit who brought warmth, kindness, and light to those around her. Her presence touched the hearts of her classmates, teachers, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.”
Serena’s death hit the headlines after she was badly burned during a suicide by fire on 18 June in Welkom.
Theresa Martins (53) doused herself and her teenage daughter with petrol and then set them both alight. The mother died in the flames.
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