Eulogy, 2nd May 2010 The Overcomers

EULOGY AT KATHRYN’S WAKE SERVICE by Lawrence Hie


On behalf of the Overcomers, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Mark and the family.

Kathryn or Boon Kee, was a member of the Overcomers, a singing group formed more than 30 years ago in GTPJ. We were in our teens and we were in Sunday school then and we formed this group which went around ministering to schools, churches and Christian groups and institutions.

The Overcomers have been dormant for many years and we had a reunion at this home here about 3 years ago. Mark and Boon Kee were the key persons to organise the reunion and we had a good time reminiscing the good old times.

We restarted to visit churches; we have been to churches in Malacca, Penang and PJ.
We have always asked our sister, Boon Kee, to testify of her condition and her faith in our God. I can say that her testimony was more powerful and impactful than all the songs we sang and all the things we could share combined. Boon Kee had such an amazing testimony of faith, she was a symbol of hope for so many.

Today we are here to give our final respects and as much as it is a time of grieving and sadness, it is also a time to celebrate her life. This life, as we have heard so much tonight, that has touched so many other lives in so many ways.

I would like to share a poem to Mark and the family by Helen Steiner Rice entitled :-



DEATH IS THE GATEWAY TO ETERNAL LIFE
By Helen Steiner Rice

Death is just another step along life’s changing way
No more than just a gateway to a new and better day
And parting from our loved ones is much easier to bear
When we know that they are waiting for us to join them there

For it is on the wings of death that the living soul takes flight
Into the Promised Land of God where there shall be no night
So death is just a natural thing, like the closing of a door
As we start upon a journey to a new and distant shore

And none need make this journey undirected or alone
For God promised us safe passage to this vast and great unknown
So let your grief be softened and yield not to despair
For you have only placed your loved one in the loving Father’s care


Initially I wondered why the poet wrote that heaven is a vast and great unknown. We know heaven is where the angels are and where our God is. As I ponder further, I tend to agree with the writer. We think we know about heaven but I believe heaven is beyond what we can think or imagine; it is beyond our understanding.

In ending, we earlier sang the song “In the Sweet By and By”; Kathryn, one day we shall see you at the other beautiful shore.

Thank you.


Presented by
Lawrence Hie

(Lawrence is part of the group of friends that Kathryn grew up with in her teenage years, called the Overcomers)