Memorial Service for Yvonne on 4 November 2011.
Yvonne’s heart failed suddenly last Saturday. At 29, she shocked us with her early departure,
just as she surprised us with her early arrival back in 1982.
In life, Yvonne had more than her fair share of challenges.
From birth she was diagnosed with a narrowing of the aorta of her heart, which was
surgically corrected when she was five.
She was of a short stature and had a youthful appearance that
led her to be treated as younger than she really was. This had often caused her distress,
even though we told her we would prefer to be in her position. She was highly introverted and had no
patience for social niceties.
Nevertheless Yvonne went on to do well in primary and high
schools. At school and university, she showed her mathematical inclinations:
she was able to whiz through complex calculations when others slaved on them;
understandably, she went on to major in Statistics.
Yvonne did not have high aspirations; she just wanted to be
like everybody else. She had difficulties impressing job interviewers, but in
the few jobs she had, she enjoyed - especially the one-year stint in Singapore
in 2006.
Despite the rejections, Yvonne harboured few fears. She did
not shy away from many activities that others perceived as risky or unsafe,
such as riding on the Sydney public transport at night or walking around Harlem
on her own. She had taken part in
activities that many would avoid, like riding on a hot air balloon in the Grand
Canyon and hanging on a paraglider in New Zealand.
Her pet city was New York, and when we showed little interest
in taking her, she made the first trip all by herself some years ago. She sought to live her life to the fullest in
her own quiet way.
Yvonne detested comments about her still living at home at 29,
implying that she was a dependent, somewhat like a child. In reality, Yvonne had
for years been fiercely pursuing an independent life, within a
cooperative household. She insisted on preparing and having her meals separate
from us and only joined us on our invitation for conversations. She performed
her own household chores like washing and caring for her cat Gilly. And, although
she led a quiet social life, she went out periodically on her own without telling
us where she went.
Earlier, she was frustrated when she failed to pass her
driving tests after several attempts. When she failed again for driving too
slowly, she angrily refused to sit for further tests. Two years ago she relented
and passed at the first new attempt. She had been enjoying the freedom of
a small car since.
Yvonne died while listening to music, one of her passions.
She played the piano as well as a range of special recorders. She enjoyed a wide range of music types and
her audio CD collection could make a library proud.
She enjoyed travels and over the past two decades, she had visited
many places in Asia, Europe and North America, sometimes on her own. While travelling, she exhausted her
companions by packing in as many activities, events and sights as possible. It
was as though she knew her time was limited.
In retrospect, that might be why she never bothered to shut cupboard doors.
She had a passion for food too, ranging from her own creations
in the kitchen to good restaurants in town. In the past year, she found the
discipline to enjoy food in moderation. She altered her lifestyle and dramatically
trimmed back her weight to no more than that of the average person. She gained
much fitness through diligent participation at Jazzercise and long walks.
Music, travel and food were Yvonne’s passions and she was engaged
in all of them during the last three weeks of her life. She had also just
completed her Master of Applied Finance degree for which she scored either distinction
or high distinction in every single subject and earned mention in the Dean’s
Merit List.
She was looking forward to her graduation in December.
We could truly say the past three weeks was a high point in
her life.
It seemed to us that God had intended to lend Yvonne
to us for less than thirty years, and had taken her back after giving
her one last treat.
We miss you Yvonne.
