Life Of Warmth, Wit
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday May 7, 2003
TRISHA van Koeverden knew how to pinch with her toes and could make her tongue touch her nose.
Her intelligence and wit were legendary, only outdone by her sense of humour and loyalty to family and friends.
It is a description of the 40-year-old woman that has been pushed to the background since Ms van Koeverden died last week.
The shocking facts that surrounded her death, when her estranged husband Toni Bardakos gunned her down in a Hamilton street while on bail for kidnapping and raping her, had overtaken the personal details.
But yesterday, in front of several hundred mourners, Ms van Koeverden's family made sure the mother-of-two's life was celebrated.
It was time to remember how she lived, not the way she died.
There was no mention of Bardakos during the 90-minute mass of thanksgiving at St Joseph's Church, Kilaben Bay, which followed a private cremation.
Nor should he have been.
Her three siblings Liz, Kim and Michael, gave an emotional account of their sister.
And the laughter far outweighed the tears in an uplifting ceremony.
Her sons Michael and Nicholas, aged 12 and 10, sat at the front of the congregation, near their grandmother Dawn van Koeverden.
Liz spoke about her difficulty in putting pen to paper to describe her big sister.
``There are no words ... that are vibrant enough or poetic enough, or powerful enough to describe how wonderful Trisha was and how we felt about Trisha," she said.
``So I closed my eyes and I waited for something to come to me.
``And two things came.
``The first thing was her hands, she had beautiful hands.
``Every time she touched you, warmth and strength flowed through her to you.
``She felt warm all the time. You were drawn to her, you couldn't get close enough to Trish."
Sister Kim added: ``She was once met never forgotten Trish. There was no pretence about her, no hidden agenda, she told it just like it was."
``She made you feel instantly at ease with her warmth and humour."
``Loved life and loved to celebrate it, she was staunchly loyal, dependable."
© 2003 Newcastle Herald