THEIR tears could probably fill the gold-coloured urn bearing the cremated remains of recently deceased Sadie Keating, as family members and friends said farewell to the outstanding public servant last Friday at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, near Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew.

More than 200 mourners, either in church where they were constrained by COVID-19 protocols or virtually via CrownStreams, listened in rapt attention to the remembrance read by younger sister, Winsome Mowatt, the grief etched on her face and the pain evident in her voice representative of those in attendance on that tearful Friday morning.

Keating died at the Tony Thwaites Wing of the University Hospital of the West Indies on November 5, 2021 after suffering a nasty fall at her St Andrew home. She was 79.

Mowatt painted the picture of a young girl helping to mother her younger siblings, attending boarding school, and even showing promise as a track star in basic school, according to her cousin, Maureen Howard.

Keating was dedicated to her family, church, and her career in the public service, which began at the Land Department, Ministry of Finance, in the 1960s and culminated as senior advisor to the then Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna in 2014.

Her son Dane was quoted in the remembrance, referring to his mother’s frequent donation of clothes to the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in St Andrew.

“This demonstrative passion for the welfare of children blossomed into one of her life’s purposes, and the now-famous Keating Report will forever remain a historical document influencing policy change to align with the rights and freedoms due to children in State care,” said Mowatt.

She was referring to Keating’s sensational 2003 fact-finding mission that lifted the cover off the abuse of children and the horrible conditions in State homes and places of safety, and led to the enactment of the landmark Child Care and Protection Act the following year.

Mowatt’s remembrance was followed by tributes from Keating’s close friends, Pauline Milburn and Carmen Peart.

Brittany Hart, cantor, lifted the spirits of the mourners as her soprano voice wafted throughout the church, where 20 people sat, and the adjoining hall where another 20 watched from audio-visuals. Organist David Stone and guitarist and grandson Alejandro Keating added to the soothing music of the funeral mass.

The celebrant, Reverend Father Arokiadas Arumainathan reminded the congregation that, though they were deeply saddened by Keating’s passing, she was prepared for the transition, and they could reflect on her life and “how God used her life to ensure that [His] love, justice, and mercy could be experienced by others”.

The remains of Sadie Deloris Keating, carried in the urn by her firstborn and son, Dane Keating, was laid to rest immediately following the mass in the church’s columbarium.

The family in the church bade her farewell by touching the vessel, which was embellished with the Christian cross, before it was put in the reserved chamber. The tears flowed again as they released her physical remains and finally closed the curtains on her full life.

Keating’s remains are now housed in her church home, along with a memorial plaque in the confessional area dedicated to her predeceased mother, Loretta Hibbert.