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Walter John D'Souza
January 20, 1944 - September 06, 2013
| Hobbies and Additional Favorites: | (Acknowledgement at the funeral by Walter's wife, Sandra)
THANKS
Rev. Fathers, Rev. Sisters, the choir, relatives, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
With the twilight hours fast approaching, I wish to thank Rev. Dr. Walter de Sa, Principal – St. Xavier’s College, for his consent to be the main celebrant at this divine Eucharistic Celebration, and for his homily which has highlighted the life of my husband Walter. Thank you Rev. Father. I also thank the other Fathers, who joined in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thank you Rev. Fr. Ferreira, Rev. Fr. Agnelo Quadros and Rev. Fr. Cotta, all come to pray for Walter inspite of their busy schedules. My thanks go out to Our Vicar, Rev. Fr. Urbano Menezes, the staff of our Church, and the altar boys, who have given us their time and effort.
A big “Thank You” to the Jubilation Choir from Caranzalem, who gave melody and grace to the Mass this evening.
My gratitude goes out to Dr. Durga Lawande, the junior doctors, nurses and support staff at the Government Chest Hospital at St. Inez. I’m grateful to the doctors and the team that attended on Walter at the GMC, Bambolim.
I cannot stop without acknowledging the help, support, co-operation, and companionship extended to us by our friends, relatives and neighbours, both during Walter’s illness, as well as during these last few days. My sisters, Rena, and Audrey, brother-in-law Adv. Noel Afonso and my niece Priyanka have bent backwards to lend me their hand when we were in all those emergency spots. You are all very dear to us, and I know Walter will pray for you from up above.
My deepest gratitude to Adv. Antonio & Claudette Lobo and family, Adv Francisco & Nirmala Souza, Teddy & Lourdes Nunes, David & Pinky and Ms. Florinda Jacinta Pereria Azavedo who were there to assist me for me at any point of time of emergency. Loads of thanks to Jerry, the undertaker, and his staff, for all the arrangements done so meticulously.
A basket full of thanks to Walter’s sisters Wanda Vas, and family, and Winnie Singh and family, who have flown from across the seas to have the last glimpse of their loving brother and maternal uncle.
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(The following is a draft of Sandra's Eulogy which could not be delivered at the funeral but she would like it to be included here)
EULOGY
I agree with Eloisa James in her words, “You don’t know how easy death is. It’s like a door. A person simply walks through it, and he’s lost to you forever.”
I feel that loss today, not really knowing how to express my own feelings at the parting of my dear husband Walter. To me he was a lot more than an intimate friend. I admired many of his qualities. He was a sportsman par excellence, and made waves and broke records in the yesteryears at St. Xavier’s College, as well as in our State of Goa.
He expressed his love for Goa to his friends very ardently. He wanted our land to remain very beautiful, with a clean environment. He had a lot of unique ideas for Goa, and this message goes to the youth in Goa to preserve Goa’s identity. He would sit with his friends and debate and discuss about Goa, in short his core concern was our small, picturesque state.
A good singer, he would romantically sing and play the guitar. Walter was a giver. When his friends complained that they didn’t achieve as many awards as him, he would give them his cups, trophies and medals, without mentioning anything at home. He never kept any press cuttings, and those captured glorious moments. An unsung hero he has remained for Goa, sharing his high and lofty ideas, never tagged with his own name. Such modesty was only Walter’s!!!
Walter was industrious, simple, honest and a sincere human being. I shall miss him for these precious qualities. In all that we planned and spoke, he was straightforward, very transparent, and kind. He reached out to the marginalized in his own small way, and wanted education to reach the masses in its true sense.
I feel sure that our Lord has taken him in His kingdom, where he is happy without any more aches and pains and medicines to consume. I’m sure our friends will miss Walter too, for his humour, wit, his subtle jokes, and all the plans he had for Goa. I can hear echoes of him saying, “And a funeral, I found out, is like a wedding in reverse, with less time to plan.” J. Lincoln Fenn
Yes, dear Walter, finally we planned it this way!!! I can’t believe that your journey upon this planet ended quite early. Goodbye Walter, and thanks a gazillion. Now on I hope to find you among the stars in the firmament, when I look up at the sky.
Thank You!!!
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INTRODUCTION AT THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION OF THE LATE WALTER de SOUZA
“When his wife was at his side, she was also in front of him, marking out the horizon of his life. Now the horizon is empty: the view has changed.”
? Milan Kundera, in his book, Encounter
Rev. Dr. Walter De Sa, Principal St. Xavier’s College, Rev. Fr. Urbano Menezes, Vicar of this Parish, Rev. Sisters, relatives, friends, ladies & gentlemen.
In this Divine Eucharistic Celebration, we praise, and thank God for the life of Walter.
We praise God for all the love, affection, concern and strength he blessed us with.
We are grateful to God, for the patience and perseverance He offered Walter during his long period of illness, he hardly complained about it, whenever his friends visited him home or at the hospital and asked, “ How do you feel?” he gave a very spontaneous smile, with a clear sparkle in his eyes, and cheerfully said, “I’m fine!” This was his unique quality as a true sportsman. How true is the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Let us also pray for Walter’s wife Sandra, who stood firmly by his side along life’s journey. We implore the Lord and His Mother Mary to give her strength and courage to face life, despite her most priceless loss.
Walter’s sisters Winnie and Wanda treasured him as “the apple of their eye”, they are here today along with his nephews Jonathan & Ravi, who have all flown from England and Canada to capture that last look of their dear, only brother & maternal uncle. We pray for them to accept Walter’s worldly absence with trust in the Lord.
THANK YOU!!
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PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
(Funeral Service
of the late Walter de Souza)
On Planet Earth God’s Kingdom is vast and wide. We pray for our Church Leaders, our Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Francis, our Archbishop, His Grace Filipe Neri Ferrao, all the Cardinals, Bishops, the Clergy, the Sisters and the Laity. We pray for Rev. Dr. Walter de Sa, the main celebrant at this Divine Eucharist, who willingly accepted to pray for Walter inspite of his own academic commitments. We also pray for our Vicar, Fr. Urbano Menezes the co - celebrant at the altar. Lord bless them with all the gifts of Your spirit, and good health to carry on Your good work entrusted to their care, for this we pray to the Lord……............................
All those in authority even up to our Superiors and Parents that they may help us appreciate our lives and theirs, to grow to love and to receive love, for this we pray to the Lord………….
Dear Lord, we thank you for the gift of our Walter. He radiated your love to each one of us, through all that he did for us, by his care, concern, and service to us and the people he came in contact with. That now, he may be well secured in the Heavenly Kingdom with you Lord, let us pray………………..
While our faith and our personal belief tells us that God gives us a merciful judgment at our death, we thank God for Walter’s parents, the late Francisco de Souza and the late Amelina de Souza, and his two sisters Winnie and Wanda, in helping Walter be the person he was. We praise God for Walter’s wife, who has spelt to the world the true meaning of “I DO! IN JOY AND SUFFERING IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH” the vow she pronounced almost 25 years ago. May peace be our consolation and eternal life our reward. For this we pray to the Lord……………………….
Lord we place before you all our relatives, neighbours, friends, medicos, nurses, and support staff who have been there for us during our times of trial. May each one of us strive to be a good witness to one another in the family and to the people around us. Bless all of us with your peace, good health and abundance of blessings, for this let us pray to the Lord…………………….
We pray for all the victims of nature’s disasters, the victims of war, the helpless in Syria, the sick, the old, the helpless orphans, especially those who have no one to care for them, the exploited and the poor, the opportunity of love and care may never pass us by. To rekindle our faith and hope in the goodness of humanity and justice, for this we pray to the Lord……………………..
We pray for all of us, our families and friends, who are struggling with memories, that we may visualize the future as God’s gift and the present as a place to recognize God as Emmanuel. We fervently pray dear Lord, to give each one of us the grace to walk with you every day in love and faith, so that we may become dedicated soldiers of Christ and His Kingdom, and honour our Mother Mary until we are united with you in Heaven, for this let us pray to the Lord…………………
DO NOT STAND AT MY GRAVE AND WEEP
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
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