The memorial service and funeral were held yesterday.
I dont think a single person walked out of there without acknowledging what a wonderful woman Mrs Lotter was - the Tributes made to her spelled that out clearly.
This was what I read on behalf of the "old-girls" of 2004.

As we look back over time
We find ourselves wondering .....
Did we remember to thank you enough
For all you have done for us?
For all the times you were by our sides
To help and support us .....
To celebrate our successes
To understand our problems
And accept our defeats?
Or for teaching us by your example,
The value of hard work, good judgement,
Courage and integrity?
We wonder if we ever thanked you
For the sacrifices you made.
To let us have the very best?
And for the simple things
ike laughter, smiles and times we shared?
If we have forgotten to show our
Gratitude enough for all the things you did,
We're thanking you now.
And we are hoping you knew all along,
How much you meant to us.

Losing someone so dear to our hearts has been devastating to try and deal with. We hope to wake up and be told it was all a bad dream. We hope to walk into her classroom and still see her there. We hope to see her smile and hear her laugh. We hurt, we mourn and we want to turn back time so that we could say a kind word and let her know how much important she was to us.
Unfortunately, we cant.

But, there is something that we can do.

We can remember her for the wonderful woman she was. We can honour her memory by thinking fondly on the lessons and the laughter. Mrs Lotter was truly an amazing person as well as teacher. She had never- ending patience and her words of comfort and encouragement reached far beyond the last school bell. No matter how difficult the class was, she took it in her stride. She was a woman of sophistication and class. She made such an impression on the lives of the girls who passed through her door and she will not be forgotten.

The last time I saw her was a few months back. We chatted for a long time and she shared with me that they were building a little place in Cape Town as a holiday home. She was so proud that she would be able to sit and watch the whales from her lounge. Her eyes glowed as she spoke of a new chapter in her life that she would be starting. I’m not sure if she ever got to see the whales from her new home, but I believe she’s now watching them from Heaven.