Not a dry eye at Schubert's final farewell

KUALA LUMPUR: The final farewell to Miss Malaysia-World 1991, actress and theatre personality Samantha Schubert, 47, was an intimate affair held on a grand scale.

Her husband Oliver Knott, 47, children Jodie, 12, Harry, 10 and Thomas, seven, followed behind the casket laden with lilies, her favourite flower, as it made its way to the altar at St John’s Cathedral, here, on Thursday as royalty, dignitaries, celebrities, the friends she grew up with and their parents, paid their last respects and mourned the loss of a dear friend and the “magic that was Samantha Schubert”.

Schubert’s mother Datuk Dr Paddy Bowie, 90, was supported by her close friend and Schubert’s guardian Malcolm Williams and Knott’s family as she grieved the death of her daughter, who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer on Monday, just eight months after she was diagnosed with the disease.

As the funeral service commenced, and the choir – made up of the cast of #projectwatermelon, which was Schubert’s last stage performance here – led the hymns, there was not a dry eye in the church.

Following the service, the cortege made its way to the DBKL Crematorium in Cheras, where Schubert was given a respectful but resounding send-off with a vodka toast and, fittingly, ABBA’s Dancing Queen, sung by all present.

It was a heartfelt finale that was celebrated by those who knew her and loved her.

In accordance with her final wishes, Schubert’s remains will be interred along with her father Carl, along with those of her brothers Richard and Peter at the Cheras cemetery.