Grahamstown residents, friends and family of the late Helen Wallace gathered at the Commemoration Methodist Church on Wednesday afternoon to pay their last respects.
Grahamstown residents, friends and family of the late Helen Wallace gathered at the Commemoration Methodist Church on Wednesday afternoon to pay their last respects.
Rev James Headbush conducted the service, while Rev Glen Craig conducted the sermon. Wallace was a well-known estate agent in Grahamstown and she and her husband Royden own properties around town which they turned into digs.
"I say love is just a river… It's a dream afraid of waking and never takes the chance… It's the soul afraid of dying and never gets to live.." sang granddaughters Nicola and Camilla Bowes, stirring the emotions of the mourners.
Helen's daughter Alexandra Bowes recited a poem on the importance of mothers. Wallace left sweet memories not only in the hearts of people in Grahamstown but also left a gap in the lives of many people from afar.
Member of Parliament in the National Council of Provinces, Bonisile Nesi, who was a long-time companion of Wallace, remarked on how she gave him hope despite his physical disability. "She always told me 'Nesi focus on your child and wife and even though you are in a wheelchair you should fight for those who are needy.' Now I am a successful member of parliament because of the hope I got from Mrs Wallace. She was fighting for everyone around her and I hope that Grahamstown will remember her for the work she has done," Nesi said in his address to the congregation.
The burial was conducted at the Old Cemetery after the service.
