Over 1,000 ex-Assunta students bid final farewell to Sister Enda

Former students gathered at SMK Assunta from around 11am to pay their last respects to the school’s founder.

PETALING JAYA: More than 1,000 former SMK Assunta students gathered at their alma mater under the blazing midday sun today to bid a final farewell to the school’s founder, the “larger than life” Sister Enda Ryan.

Many of the former students were there since 11am, dressed in the school colours of white and brown, waiting for the multi-purpose vehicle carrying Sister Enda’s casket to reach the school.

A funeral mass was held for her earlier at St Francis Xavier Church.

When the hearse arrived, the school band played SMK Assunta’s anthem, written and composed by Sister Enda herself, while some former students shed tears.

The hearse left the school compound at about 12.20pm, with some of the alumni giving Sister Enda a final salute before its departure to the crematorium.

Among those who came to bid a final farewell were Yayasan Chow Kit founder Hartini Zainudin and Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran.

Hartini, who graduated in 1979, said Sister Enda “always saw the good in everybody”, and drew the best out of the people she encountered.

Yayasan Chow Kit founder Hartini Zainudin embracing a fellow SMK Assunta alumnus as they shed tears over Sister Enda Ryan’s passing.

The child rights activist described herself as Sister Enda’s “second naughtiest student” as she was always getting detention and having her name called out by the school founder.

“I thought I was the naughtiest student, but no, it was another person,” she joked.

She also said that Sister Enda had kept newspaper cuttings of her work with Yayasan Chow Kit, displaying the pride she had in her once-naughty student.

SMK Assunta alumni giving Sister Enda one final salute before the hearse departed to the crematorium.

“She actually cut papers (clippings) of me and other Assuntarians (including Dr Jemilah Mahmood and former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz), which was lovely.”

Sharmila said Sister Enda instilled the school values in them, to the point that they became a way of life for the former students.

“She was larger than life,” she said. “If we (like Sister Enda) believe in children and give them a chance, they will actually blossom in what they do and contribute back to society.” - FMT