Korchinski-Paquet remembered fondly

Toronto woman’s death still under investigation by police watchdog unit Regis Korchinski-Paquet, 29, was laid to rest on Thursday.

The body of Regis KorchinskiPaquet lay peacefully in a white, open casket on Thursday afternoon even as controversy still swirled around her death, now under investigation by Ontario’s police watchdog.

The funeral service for the 29year-old Toronto woman was streamed online from an undisclosed church. The names of a pastor and a priest who officiated were not announced.

Neither the pastor nor the priest spoke directly about her death on May 27, after she fell from her 24th-floor balcony while police were inside her family’s High Park apartment unit.

There was also no talk of race in the subdued 80-minute ceremony, filled mostly by mournful hymns.

The death of Korchinski-Paquet, an Afro-Indigenous woman, has sparked calls for justice from the woman’s family and supporters.

Her mother has said she called police on the night of her daughter’s death because she had needed mental health support.

The case is under investigation by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit. Earlier this week, her family said it will be scheduling an interview with the Ontario police watchdog “as soon as possible.”

The family had previously put off an interview, citing their concern over police leaks to the media.

At her funeral on Thursday, the pastor softly asked mourners to remember her as a loving, positive, caring young woman, who always seemed to have a smile and time to say hello.

“She was so encouraging,” he said. “I remember how she was so caring … She was so loving and caring.”

The pastor stood a few feet from her body, which was dressed in white, near a single candle, surrounded by portraits of saints and religious images.

The pastor said that he had known her for years, and he had only good things to say about her memory.

“The memory is not lost in the coffin,” the pastor said. “The memory lives on through all of us who know her.”

He urged the mourners to look for strength in her memory, each other, and within themselves.

“You’re not alone, even though you feel alone,” he said.

The family has described her as an active member of her church and a passionate gymnast, dancer and singer who was proud of her Ukrainian and Nova Scotian heritage.

She also began experiencing epileptic seizures over the past five years, which sometimes meant calls to the police for help.

The pastor urged mourners to keep happy memories alive.

“We’re the voice of her happiness,” the pastor said. “When things happen suddenly, it brings up a lot of feelings inside of us,” he said.

“Keep smiling,” he said. “Hug somebody … We’re not going to get through this unless we do it together.”

The priest, dressed in a red and golden robe, then told mourners that he was shocked to hear the news of her death.

“You lost a daughter,” the priest said. “You lost a sister. You lost a friend.”

He urged mourners not to be judgmental of others.

“Nobody’s perfect in this world,” the priest said. “Only God is perfect.”

“She was and will continue to be a child of God,” the priest said.

The priest acknowledged that feelings are still raw, but he said that will change.

“You will overcome,” the priest said. “You will remember.”

Once his eulogy was completed, a dozen people went to the casket. Several brushed tears from their eyes and some kissed her cheek and spoke softly. Then her casket was slowly closed and wheeled out of the camera frame.