[Goanet]Leicester Mercury: Fond farewell to Merlyn Vaz.

[Eddie Fernandes]

Leicester Mercury 27 October 2003.   Fond farewell to Merlyn.  By Jennifer Sym.   Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Prime Minister of India IK Gujral were among those to send their condolences. The mother-of-three died earlier this month at the age of 74, after a four-year battle with cancer.   On Saturday, friends, relatives and well-wishers congregated for a service of thanksgiving to mark her life in the Sacred Heart Church in Mere Road in the city.  A procession through the streets before the noon service was led by a piper, and enabled shopkeepers and residents in her constituency to pay their respects.   While she was a governor of Hamilton Community College and a tireless campaigner for pensioners' rights, it was Merlyn the family woman who was remembered at the service.  Messages to their "nanna" - in prose, poetry, and music - were given by her five of her six grandchildren.   Family friend, Rt Hon Lord Falconer QC, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, paid tribute to a vibrant, music-loving woman, saying: "She was such a good friend to so many.  "To me, to my family, to the prime minister, to all who knew her in Leicester and beyond, she was so open and so warm, she had such a gift for friendship. She loved people, that's why she touched so many hearts. You have touched our lives so much, we know we will never see your like again on earth." Candles were lit by the congregation in Mrs Vaz's memory as the procession left the church.   In lieu of flowers, her family asked well-wishers to donate to The Merlyn Trust, formerly the Pensioners' Award Scheme, which was renamed following her death and honours senior citizens or organisations in Leicester and nationally.   The Lord Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Tom Butler, told the packed church: "In her life, Merlyn profoundly influenced hundreds of people over three continents, where she was born, where she worked and where she lived and died; she kept company with people in every walk of life as an elected representative of this city for 14 years, in whose ward this church is based; in her death, she commands the sympathy of thousands." Mrs Vaz, who was widowed in 1970, leaves three children - Keith, who is MP for Leicester East, Penny and Valerie - and six grandchildren. =================   For photographs and more information see: http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/supplement/MerlynVaz.html