CLICK ABOVE ON THE MOVIE CLIPPER BOARD TO PLAY THE ITN VIDEO TRIBUTE
ITN's London Tonight tribute to Daniel http://www.itvlocal.com/london/news/?void=244251
London Tonight coverage of Service http://www.itvlocal.com/london/news/?void=249971
BBC London's Daniel coverage http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7688081.stm
BBC News inteview with Daniel's parents http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7689347.stm
MTV BASE Tribute to Daniel http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/453239-daniel-de-gale-rip
(Main Funeral Pictures courtesy of Tony Atille and Black Ink Photography)
The thousands of people who attended the funeral of Daniel De-Gale will know how much of a beautiful day it was but for those of you who were unable to share the moment I would like to share with you a day filled with immense joy and pain. (Also highlighted in 2 of the above video hyperlinks)
Daniel, a former Leukaemia sufferer who was diagnosed with the condition in April 1993 won his battle against Leukaemia when on 16th June 1999 at the age of 12 he received a bone marrow transplant from Doreene Carney at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Daniel was in remission but due to complications with his health that led to multiple organ failure he died aged 21 on the 8th October 2008. in hospital surrounded by his family.
He was loved by so many people and this became very clear on Friday 24th October when so many people gathered to pay respect to the legend, Daniel David ‘Playzo’ De-Gale. Among those were friends old and new, celebrity, young and old, rich and poor, Daniel did not discriminate he loved, respected and cared for all those in life. That love was definitely in the church on Friday. In attendance were the Duchess of York, Colin Salmon, Richard Blackwood, Keisha Buchanan, Rudolph Walker, Alastair Stewart, Beverley Knight, Ian Wright, Garth Crooks and many more Celebrities.
Daniel’s funeral cortege, which consisted of DANIEL, PLAYZO, CUZ and SON floral arrangements, left the house at 11.30am and slowly made its way to his secondary school, Archbishop Tenison’s in Croydon. As the cars travelled up the uphill gradient an incredible sight loomed on the horizon. On both sides of the street outside the school there was a long single line of young boys and girls with teachers. The school were giving Daniel their own unique “Guard of Honour”. The Cortege slowly passed the youngsters who bowed their heads or said a prayer. For many of the family inside the cars it was a very moving and emotional moment.
Once the cars reached Croydon Parish Church, which was packed to overflowing with over a 1,000 people, another special and uplifting moment took place. The Funeral directors carried Daniel’s coffin through another “Guard of Honour at the entrance of the church. This time it was performed by uniformed members of the London Fire Brigade.
As the coffin entered the church the opening bars and words of the classic Elton John song “Daniel” began playing over the PA system. The words and tone of this song seemed to fit the mood of the moment with how we were all feeling as Daniel’s coffin was placed into position at the front of the altar. After the powerful and moving lyrics and song to “Something Inside so Strong” by Labi Siffre was played the service began with a word of welcome by Canon Boswell.
Once the opening hymn was completed, Daniel’s donor, Doreene Carney read a Scripture reading from the Bible. She then spoke about how proud she was to be part of Daniel and his family and why we must all support his legacy by backing the ACLT in its aims and objectives of saving lives.
Doreene was followed by Mark Thompson the husband of former Leukaemia sufferer Sarah Thompson. Mark read out 2 poems. The 1st one was about his wife’s winning battle against Leukaemia and finding a matching donor. The 2nd was written after Daniel’s passing and was a magnificent tribute to his legacy.
After the London Community Gospel Choir had sung an appropriate tribute song the Eulogy was read by me (Orin Lewis), Daniel’s step-father. I guided the audience on a journey highlighting the meaning about the name of Daniel, an appeal from him, facts and figures about Daniel and then finishing with 3 appropriate tributes finishing with his legacy to mankind. I spoke about the beauty and importance of smiling and how your smile could change someone’s day and I’m sure all those that knew Daniel would agree that it will be his smile that we will miss the most. At the end of the Eulogy I asked the congregation to metaphorically raise the roof off the church by giving him a standing ovation. Well they did that and more as there was a huge crescendo of clapping, cheers of love, whistles, stomping, banging, etc that went on for many minutes.
Beverley, supported by our daughter Dominique, then gave a very personal and moving tribute about how proud she was of our Daniel.
"I feel blessed to have been in Dan's life, albeit short.
"But to be honest they have been the best 21-and-a-half years I could have ever asked for and my daughter Dominique will allow me through her love and our beautiful relationship to move forward in a positive way."
She also talked about how he would always say or text “Good Times” to her in relation to hearing or reading about another Manchester United victory. His biological father, Benedict, followed by telling everyone how much Daniel meant to him and reminisced about when as a small child they did little Father and Sons things for the 1st time. He also highlighted how he now really understood the huge significant impact his son had on so many others and that Daniel belonged to everyone.
The next section of tributes will probably leave the most lasting impression with those in attendance at the church, because it came mainly from young people. What we all witnessed was an incredibly mature presentation from his sister, Dominique. Beverley and I watched with huge pride as she told everyone to “wipe away their tears as this is not what Daniel would have wanted”. Dominique also told untold stories about the 2 of them getting up to childhood mischief, which caused fits of laughter and talked about their very close relationship.
Aunty Angela read a beautiful poem as a tribute to her nephew. Cousin, Gary Moyo, then spoke in a very deep emotional way about what Daniel meant to him. He touched on many aspects of their relationship including, their love of music, Man Utd and PINEAPPLE PUNCH?
Step-brother, Andre Hackett, gave a very brief but highly charged and witty tribute to Daniel which had everyone in stitches of laughter. His wonderful comment “Daniel had not many years in his life but plenty of life in his years” brought an instant prolonged round of applause.
Jess Elliott, a close friend from University, gave a glowing tribute to her Daniel and promised to never forget him, to pass all her exams (which she did) and to become a great Sports Therapist like Daniel would have become. She also asked him to keep a spare seat available for her when they next meet in the future.
One of Daniel’s longest known friends, Willis Musana, spoke tearfully and emotionally about their friendship including how Daniel was going to be his newly born daughter’s (Amiyah) Godfather. Jess assisted Willis in completing his tribute which was capped by a very personal and loving tribute by his close friend Luci Faucher.
Luci then spoke about her Daniel. Their togetherness and closeness was obvious as Luci recalled their touching moments. Through tears and pride she highlighted how they helped each other through their love and friendship.
The Celebration was topped and tailed by a very poignant New Testament reading (John 16:16-33) by Canon Boswell. He informed everyone that this reading was bookmarked by Daniel in his own Bible and that he was obviously aware of his own mortality and how all of us might react to his demise.
The mood of the service was like a Roller Coaster ride and lasted two hours. One minute deep sadness but then fits of laugher and an overall feeling of great pride of Daniel, his legacy and what we all could do as a tribute to him. A great humorous example was when Canon Boswell began talking about “how he understood what it felt like to be a minority. This comment had everyone taking a deep intake of breath in anticipation, since the audience was majority non white. But he then highlighted how it feels to be a Chelsea fan in this service which consisted of many observations exclusively about Man Utd and Arsenal.
Canon Boswell’s powerful words about the little difference between BIRTH and DEATH left a huge and lasting effect on so many people at the funeral.
The service ended with Daniel’s coffin being once again given a Fire Brigade “Guard of Honour” whilst one of Daniel’s favourite old song Yazz’s “The Only Way is Up” was being played.
The service was truly a beautiful tribute and made so many people feel strong enough to continue to follow the path that Daniel has illuminated.
The entire family of Daniel De-Gale would like to express our thanks and deep appreciation for the many expressions of sympathy, consolation, love, support and prayers during this time of bereavement (text, email, voicemail, facebook, etc) and more so the time taken from your busy schedules to join us at the Service as we celebrated the wonderful life of a dear Son, Brother, Relative and Friend.
A special personal thank you to Ms Janet Irons who with the assistance of Lauren Farrow and other ACLT/Family members ensured that the many messages of condolences and all ACLT operational activities were monitorede and controlled. Also a special thanks to Verna Brackett for personally and practically supporting Beverley and me (Orin) during the hours and days after Daniel's passing.
Finally, special thanks to Sharmaine, Angela, Audley, Raymond, Pauline, Ellington, Doreene Carney, nephews, nieces, cousins and other extended family members for all of the continuous love and support that Beverley, Dominique and I have received.
Daniel your mission in this world has been accomplished, you have helped save so many lives and helped inspire so many others to try and give the gift of life. So it is now for the rest of us to do the right thing as a true legacy to you and do likewise.
My brave and handsome son Daniel De-Gale, what an inspiration he is to us all.
Thank you Daniel
Sleep Tight and Good Times
Orin Lewis
(On behalf of Beverley and Dominique)
