Denise Newton

Tribute to Aunty Denise We gather here today with heavy hearts, bound together by love and remembrance for someone who meant so much to each of us. Aunty Denise was more than just an aunt, a friend, a mother, and a sister—she was a radiant presence in our lives. Her warmth, wisdom, and laughter brought comfort in ways that words often fail to capture. I’ll never forget the last time she recognized me. I was having a difficult day, and she pulled me into a hug and said, “I love you, Charie.” The past few years have brought many “lasts.” The last time she drove a car. The last time she came to church. The last time she opened her eyes. Each of these moments, though painful, became precious. We hold onto them, not as reminders of loss, but as pieces of her story that we were privileged to witness. It’s been hard to understand why God allowed her to linger in the fading of herself. But we serve a gracious God—one who welcomes our questions, our grief, and our longing to make sense of what we cannot see. Maybe He knew that losing her all at once would have been too much to bear. And maybe He allowed us to say goodbye piece by piece, so the weight of goodbye wouldn’t break us. For now, we pray and believe we will see her again, that one day we will be reunited with our beloved Oumie, Moekie, mother, our Aunty Denise in that place where there will be no more pain and no more fading, and where all our “lasts” will be replaced with an infinite supply of firsts and forevers. Thank you.