Fairy dust coffin from pupils for head who told them she’d die
PRIMARY schoolchildren decorated their headteacher's coffin with “fairy dust” to say a poignant farewell yesterday.
Sue East, 58, died from cancer on December 19 after writing a goodbye letter to her pupils, telling them she was “going to die soon” and thanking them for their “joy and friendship”.
At the end of her letter, she wrote: “Never forget there is fairy dust to be found in every situation, no matter how difficult.”
The youngsters showed their appreciation at her funeral yesterday at Bath Abbey.
Almost 700 children, parents, former pupils and staff said farewell to the former head of St Andrew's Church School in the city.
Past and present pupils sang at the funeral and covered Mrs East's coffin with drawings of fairies, butterflies, love hearts, rainbows and the “fairy dust”.
Joint deputy headteachers Tam Stephen and Jayne Rochford-Smith said of Mrs East, an avid Star Trek watcher: “We often refer to ourselves as a family, with Sue as Captain Kirk at the helm of the Starship Enterprise.”
In tributes, pupils described her as “fun, lovely, exotic, glittery, the best teacher, kind, caring, taught us to believe in ourselves, sprinkling fairy dust everywhere”.
Mrs East's children John, Susannah and Josiah read tributes.
Eldest son John said she affectionately referred to the children as “creatures”.
He said: “Mum lived freely and selflessly. Mum didn't just love us, she loved all the ‘creatures'.”
Susannah said her mother's spirit would live on.
Josiah joked how his mother would have probably admonished him for writing a eulogy for her funeral and not focusing on his university dissertation.
He added: “She taught me how to live life – and accept death.”