Jackie Morris
To our dearest Jackie, beloved mother, sister, daughter and, in what was familiar to some but perhaps at first a touch different to others, our very own Sangoma friend. Here we stand to honour you, thank you, and wish you for this journey that you probably understood better than most of us do. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we could all do with some of that incredible strength you showed us as we try to deal with our loss.
To condense your all too short life into a few words over a couple of minutes would fall too far short of the mark that you have left behind. What I can say though, is that every person here and all your absent family and friends have their own mental portrait of you signed with the familiar J Morris. Yes, if given the chance each and every person (talent and ability aside) that had the privilege of meeting you would paint a masterpiece equal to the strength and depth of your character and capturing the beauty of your soul. If we could put all those portraits together in a magnificent exhibition oh how magical it would be.
Now that fate has dealt us such a cruel blow we will take heart in the legacy you leave behind. We will often speak of you, more than likely laugh, sing and dance as we bask in the memories you leave behind. You have walked through our lives and into our hearts and your footprints will remain forever as your journey continues.
As you lay in the hospital bed and your body had all but given up on you, it was clear that your mind was still so active, thinking things that none of us have the capacity to comprehend. It was during these visits that you taught me a valuable life lesson. You taught me that the blood of a family and the connection between friends are two bonds that should only ever be broken by death as we know it because the body fails before the mind.
Wordsworth once said “The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day” and as we lay you to rest here today maybe those words ring true for your life till now and for the future. You were always a star that shone bright in our lives whether it be day or night. Now that you are no longer here in person, we may and will often find ourselves reaching out for what once was, wishing you were here. In times like these we only need to take a moment to look for you and we will see you, if not in the sky then all around us in the abundant things nature provides, as vibrant and beautiful as you always were.
They say that we should save the best for last and your swan song will continue to play and the words and music will be of all the very best memories, as it should be. And so while the paint on the canvas of your beautiful life is still wet and our hearts are broken by what should have been, we bid you farewell with all our love, now and always. Tsamaya Sentle