Africa-Press – South-Africa. Hundreds of mourners gathered at the St John The Evangelist Catholic Church in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, on Saturday to bid a final farewell to the country’s first female officer to qualify as a submariner, Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector. She died at sea more than a week ago.
Navy band members marched up and down the road outside the church and played hymns before a white hearse pulled up with the coffin.
Hector was one of a crew of eight members on the SAS Manthatisi carrying out a routine training exercise in Kommetjie when massive waves swept them off the submarine.
Hector, 33, Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa, 48, and Warrant Officer Class One Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela, 43, died at sea. The others were taken to a nearby hospital and have since been discharged.
Parish evangelist Subeesh Kalappuracka officiated the service. Family members and Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral Monde Lobese Navy paid respect to the “queen of the sea.”
Kalappurackal said:
“She loved a bargain, had a notorious laugh and hated conflict. She was an exceptional person,” Bowkers said.
Gillian’s brother-in-law, Brendon Hector, described her as a “symbol of light and a beacon of hope”.
“Thank you for teaching us the art of humility and respect. Thank you for your unconditional love and the countless memories. We will miss you dearly. Long live the queen of the seas,” an emotional Brendon Hector said.
Vice Admiral Lobese said the past two weeks had been the most difficult for everyone who knew Hector.
“We have all gone through the various phases of grief, namely shock, denial, anger, bargaining and depression. All of us stand here today and ask how can someone so vibrant, so young, with so much promise, be taken away from us.
“The most difficult part of this grieving process is acceptance. We are forced to accept something that is so devastatingly sorrowful,” said Lobese.
Hector was passionate, driven, and “so alive”, Lobese added.
“She knew what she wanted, and she was not afraid to work hard to achieve it.”
He recalled receiving the call of the “devastating” news.
“When I heard the terrible news of the passing of Gillian and her two comrades, Mathipa and Mojela, I was devastated. The shock was so great because just a week before that, I still spoke to them. I shook their hands, and we joked and laughed. I vividly remember the excitement and pride in their eyes when they assured me that their submarine was ready for deployment to the Waterfront.
“I remember how proud I was to be Chief of the Navy of such dedication and such brilliant young members. I knew that with people of such a high calibre in the Navy, our future is assured,” an emotional Lobese added.
In the closing of the service, mourners stood singing hymns as Gillian’s colleagues escorted her coffin out of the church. Her husband Romero Hector followed suit, wiping away tears as he kept his eyes trained on the coffin.
Outside the church, navy members lined up as the coffin returned to the hearse.
Lobese said Mathipa and Mojela’s funerals will take place in Limpopo.
“Next week, we will be going to Limpopo Province to bury Mokwapa Mojela on Saturday and William Mathipa on Sunday. I believe it is the least the SA Navy can do to give these proud daughters and sons of the soil a proper send-off,” he said.
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