Candice, 15, lost dad, mum and aunt

Sydney
15 December 2002

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Candice, 15, lost dad, mum and aunt

Gerardine and Stephen Buchan

By Damir Govorcin

“I saw Candice and her father, Stephen, a few days before they left for Bali,” says Fr Patrick Hurley, parish priest of St Andrew’s, Malabar.

“They were walking across the street with their arm around one another.

“It was nice to see a father and his teenage daughter getting along so famously.”

The Bali bombings put an end to that.

Candice Buchan, 15, suffered minor burns in the October tragedy.

But Stephen, her dad, was killed.

So, too, were her mother, Gerardine, and her aunt, Catherine Seelin.

Fr Patrick, who knew them all, delivered his homily in front of the 1500 mourners who filled St Andrew’s Church, with hundreds more left outside.

“I feel immense sympathy and sorrow for the families,” he said. “I feel concern for Candice now that she has lost her parents.

“She has a good extended family who will take good care of her.”

The priest said Candice delivered her eulogy about her parents with “great poise and dignity”.

“Candice made us laugh at times talking about her mother’s attention to her appearance and her father’s funny walk,” he said.

“Gerardine took great care with her appearance. She was very attractive and stylish.”

She and Stephen “had a great marriage and were loving parents”, he said.

Stephen was a keen sportsman, who had a passion for surfing and loved riding a big wave.

David and Catherine Seelin had been married for 23 years, said Fr Patrick. They had two sons, Matthew and Todd.

“Catherine almost died in a car accident about a decade ago, and she was in constant pain due to those injuries,” he said.

“But she wasn’t one to complain.

“The trip to Bali was her opportunity for some rest and recuperation.”

Fr Christopher Sheehy, parish priest at St Joseph’s Church, Rosebery, delivered the homily at the funerals of two Bali victims at St Joseph’s Church, Como.

Best friends Charmaine Whitton and Jodie Wallace had gone to Bali together.

“There are striking similarities between the two girls,” says Fr Chris. “They were both 29, they were glamorous girls who were kind and generous to others.

“Their lives had a purpose.”

They were close to their mothers.

“Their funerals took place six weeks after they died, which has meant trying times for their families,” he said.

“For Charmaine and Jodie, there is now no confusion. They now have the wisdom of the resurrection.

“They can now accept and smile at the craziness of this world.

“If we fight violence with violence, peace will never come.”