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Friday 21st May, 1999
The death of Jill Dando was like a "loving, beautiful light"
being snuffed, mourners at her funeral in her West Country home town were told
Stars of television and local townspeople alike joined in remembering Dando at a special
service at Weston-super-Mare.
Hundreds of people lined the route of the funeral courtege for the murdered BBC presenter
Jill Dando in her home town of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. The cortège of a hearse and
three cars began winding through the streets on a three mile journey to the church service
at just after 1430 BST to allow the town's people to pay the final respects to one of
their most famous daughters. Among those paying their final respects at the service are
stars from the TV and entertainment world.
 Household names among the mourners included Prince Edward's
fiancee Sophie Rhys-Jones, Sir Cliff Richard, Nick Ross, Carol Vorderman and Jeremy
Paxman. Miss Dando's father Jack, 81, a retired printer, her journalist brother Nigel
Dando, 47, and fiance Alan Farthing were among the 100-strong congregation. Hundreds
more stood behind barriers opposite the church, while others lined the funeral procession
route.
Despite a succession of tributes for the 37-year-old, the unresolved question of why she
was murdered on her own doorstep remained a poignant feature of the emotional service.
 The congregation were told that her violent death
had snuffed out the "loving, beautiful light" of the "beautiful girl next
door". The Rev Roger Collins told invited guests at the private service in the
Clarence Park Baptist Church that everyone was asking "Why?""Life was about
to enter an exciting, fulfilling new stage. Until that fateful moment on Monday April
26. "Jill the beautiful girl next door, known to every family in the country,
was shot dead. And everyone was asking: "Why?". "On the one hand the answer
to that question lies in the hands of the police. But whatever solution they find,
the larger question remains.
"I know of nobody who could have had fewer enemies than Jill," he told the
congregation, including Crimewatch co-presenter Nick Ross, close friend Sir Cliff Richard
and other former broadcasting colleagues Anna Ford, Martyn Lewis, Jennie Bond, Bob Wilson
and Eamonn Holmes. Mr Collins, the retired minister of Milton Baptist Church, spoke of the
broadcaster's remarkable life, her humour and sympathetic understanding of people.
"When Jill was shot, a lively, loving beautiful light was extinguished, and darkness
came to us all," he said.
Standing close to Miss Dando's coffin, which was decked with floral tributes from her
family, he spoke of her early life as a schoolgirl and an active membe r of the church's
Youth Fellowship. He said she had bravely faced the suffering and lingering death of her
mother, Jean, who died in 1986 from leukaemia. "While we all mourn deeply her
passing from us, we can give thanks that that life is now united with her mother, and
face-to-face with Jesus. The family has asked that mourners, instead of buying flowers,
should send donations to charities including the Weston Hospice in Weston-super-Mare.
Ms Dando's father Jack, a
retired printer, her brother Nigel, chief reporter on the Bristol Evening Post, and her
fiancé, Alan Farthing, led the mourners as the funeral began. The service is being
conducted by the Rev Marc Owen, pastor of the Milton Baptist Church, where Ms Dando was
once a regular visitor. Rev Roger Collins, retired pastor of the Milton church, is giving
the address.
Ms Dando is being laid to rest next to her mother, Jean, who died from
leukaemia 13 years ago.
Video of the Funeral
Donations in memory of Miss Dando can be sent to Weston Hospicecare Jill Dando Memorial Fund,
PO Box 224, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2JL, or via the web site at www.westonhospicecare.org.uk.
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