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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/21/hundreds-pay-tribute-to-mother-and-daughter-who-died-in-grenfell-fire
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| Hundreds pay tribute to mother and daughter who died in Grenfell fire | Hundreds pay tribute to mother and daughter who died in Grenfell fire |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Hundreds of people have packed into a church in the shadow of Grenfell Tower to pay tribute to a mother and daughter who died in last month’s catastrophic fire. | Hundreds of people have packed into a church in the shadow of Grenfell Tower to pay tribute to a mother and daughter who died in last month’s catastrophic fire. |
| Family and friends wore white, with some in traditional West African dress, for Mary Mendy’s funeral and a memorial service on Friday for 24-year-old Khadija Saye, who was buried on 28 June. | Family and friends wore white, with some in traditional West African dress, for Mary Mendy’s funeral and a memorial service on Friday for 24-year-old Khadija Saye, who was buried on 28 June. |
| Mendy’s white coffin was carried beneath the tall windows of the Notting Hill Methodist church, west London, which look directly on to the blackened hulk of Grenfell Tower. The inferno which destroyed the building killed at least 80 people. | Mendy’s white coffin was carried beneath the tall windows of the Notting Hill Methodist church, west London, which look directly on to the blackened hulk of Grenfell Tower. The inferno which destroyed the building killed at least 80 people. |
| The coffin was placed in front of a simple lace-covered altar and flower arrangement in the church that three days ago was the setting for an angry meeting between the community and officials. | The coffin was placed in front of a simple lace-covered altar and flower arrangement in the church that three days ago was the setting for an angry meeting between the community and officials. |
| Mendy, 54, and Saye lived on the 20th floor of the block, although their bodies were recovered on the concrete staircase several floors below their flat. Both were identified by dental records. | Mendy, 54, and Saye lived on the 20th floor of the block, although their bodies were recovered on the concrete staircase several floors below their flat. Both were identified by dental records. |
| The mother’s provisional cause of death was given at her adjourned inquest as “fire fumes, pending further investigation”. Saye’s was “inhalation of fire fumes and burns”. | The mother’s provisional cause of death was given at her adjourned inquest as “fire fumes, pending further investigation”. Saye’s was “inhalation of fire fumes and burns”. |
| Friday’s service included tearful tributes delivered by friends and relatives. Mendy’s brother, Nathaniel Johnson, said he was blessed to call her his sister and that she was a “shining light”. | Friday’s service included tearful tributes delivered by friends and relatives. Mendy’s brother, Nathaniel Johnson, said he was blessed to call her his sister and that she was a “shining light”. |
| A man whose name was given as Lye spoke of her qualities as a carer, her readiness to help people, her devotion to charitable causes in her native Gambia and her bond with her daughter. | A man whose name was given as Lye spoke of her qualities as a carer, her readiness to help people, her devotion to charitable causes in her native Gambia and her bond with her daughter. |
| Friends of Saye’s told of their shock and grief at her death, her love of JAY-Z and Beyoncé, her warmth and sense of fun, and her habitual lateness, as well as her remarkable talents as a photographer and artist. Her work had been exhibited as part of a showcase of emerging artists at the Venice Biennale, and other galleries had expressed interest in her. | Friends of Saye’s told of their shock and grief at her death, her love of JAY-Z and Beyoncé, her warmth and sense of fun, and her habitual lateness, as well as her remarkable talents as a photographer and artist. Her work had been exhibited as part of a showcase of emerging artists at the Venice Biennale, and other galleries had expressed interest in her. |
| A four-person choir accompanied the congregation in singing hymns including Amazing Grace and Abide with Me, as a sequence of photographs of mother and daughter were displayed on overhead screens. | A four-person choir accompanied the congregation in singing hymns including Amazing Grace and Abide with Me, as a sequence of photographs of mother and daughter were displayed on overhead screens. |
| Mike Long, the church’s superintendent minister, said the pair’s untimely deaths had been part of a “very public tragedy and a very public grief for their family, as it has for all the families so dreadfully affected. Indeed the Grenfell Tower fire has devastated an entire community … It was avoidable and utterly wasteful of so many talented and gifted [people].” | Mike Long, the church’s superintendent minister, said the pair’s untimely deaths had been part of a “very public tragedy and a very public grief for their family, as it has for all the families so dreadfully affected. Indeed the Grenfell Tower fire has devastated an entire community … It was avoidable and utterly wasteful of so many talented and gifted [people].” |
| He added: “In so many ways, Mary and Khadija represented the life and soul of this community: western and African, Christian and Muslim, creative and caring.” | He added: “In so many ways, Mary and Khadija represented the life and soul of this community: western and African, Christian and Muslim, creative and caring.” |
| He took issue with the description of the neighbourhood in the weeks since the fire as a “deprived community”. | He took issue with the description of the neighbourhood in the weeks since the fire as a “deprived community”. |
| “The deprivation of those who know nothing of the life in Grenfell Tower, who do not know, who never experienced the incredible personalities of Mary and Khadija, or whose lives are untouched by this appalling tragedy – they are the really deprived. | “The deprivation of those who know nothing of the life in Grenfell Tower, who do not know, who never experienced the incredible personalities of Mary and Khadija, or whose lives are untouched by this appalling tragedy – they are the really deprived. |
| “We are those who have been strangely blessed, at least in the sense that we have been truly blessed to know Mary and Khadija, and we know that all our lives have been enriched by them.” | “We are those who have been strangely blessed, at least in the sense that we have been truly blessed to know Mary and Khadija, and we know that all our lives have been enriched by them.” |
| After the funeral, Mendy’s coffin was placed in a glass carriage drawn by four white-plumed horses, to be taken for burial at the Gunnersbury cemetery in Acton. Her daughter was buried last month in the Gardens of Peace, a Muslim cemetery in Hainault, Essex, after funeral prayers at the East London mosque. | After the funeral, Mendy’s coffin was placed in a glass carriage drawn by four white-plumed horses, to be taken for burial at the Gunnersbury cemetery in Acton. Her daughter was buried last month in the Gardens of Peace, a Muslim cemetery in Hainault, Essex, after funeral prayers at the East London mosque. |
| Mendy’s sister, Betty Jackson, said in a statement on behalf of the family issued after her inquest on 26 June: “My beloved sister, words can never describe the pain of losing you. I can’t believe you are gone. You were a wonderful sister, an incredible aunt, the best mother any child could have wished for. | Mendy’s sister, Betty Jackson, said in a statement on behalf of the family issued after her inquest on 26 June: “My beloved sister, words can never describe the pain of losing you. I can’t believe you are gone. You were a wonderful sister, an incredible aunt, the best mother any child could have wished for. |
| “You were an amazing friend to all those who knew you. Your heart was pure, your soul was one of a kind. You will be missed for a lifetime. You will remain forever in our hearts; you and your beautiful daughter, Khadija Saye.” | “You were an amazing friend to all those who knew you. Your heart was pure, your soul was one of a kind. You will be missed for a lifetime. You will remain forever in our hearts; you and your beautiful daughter, Khadija Saye.” |
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