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MH17 crash: Funeral of Glenn Thomas held in Lancashire | MH17 crash: Funeral of Glenn Thomas held in Lancashire |
(35 minutes later) | |
Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a man who died in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 air crash in Ukraine. | Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a man who died in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 air crash in Ukraine. |
Glenn Thomas, who was 49 and originally from Blackpool, was one of 298 people killed in July when the Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur came down. | |
The humanist service at the Lowther Pavilion in Lytham included a one-minute silence for all of the victims. | |
His twin sister Tracey Withers said it was a "celebration" of his life. | His twin sister Tracey Withers said it was a "celebration" of his life. |
During the service a candle was lit for Mr Thomas by Ms Withers and his partner Claudio Manoel Villaca-Vanetta. | During the service a candle was lit for Mr Thomas by Ms Withers and his partner Claudio Manoel Villaca-Vanetta. |
A tribute was read by his nephew Jordan Withers, who said: "My thoughts can be summed up by this quote: 'If I had a flower for every memory I have with you, I could forever walk in my garden'." | |
Other tributes came from his best friend Steve Manion, and Christy Feig, director of communications at the World Health Organization. | |
Colleagues described Mr Thomas as "a wonderful person and a great professional" after his death was confirmed. | |
Later, a horse-drawn hearse led the cortege to the Park Crematorium in Lytham. | Later, a horse-drawn hearse led the cortege to the Park Crematorium in Lytham. |
Analysis: BBC Radio Lancashire's Steve Becker | Analysis: BBC Radio Lancashire's Steve Becker |
It was a memorial service... and yet a celebration as well, as Glenn Thomas's family had requested. | It was a memorial service... and yet a celebration as well, as Glenn Thomas's family had requested. |
Where else would mourners hear 'Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West'? | Where else would mourners hear 'Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West'? |
It was chosen to reflect his eclectic musical tastes after his nephew Jordan Withers recalled him playing it in his open-top car as they sped along the Blackpool prom. | |
Around 200 people from around the world attended the service, including officials from the World Health Organization in Geneva where Glenn was a press officer. | Around 200 people from around the world attended the service, including officials from the World Health Organization in Geneva where Glenn was a press officer. |
Communications director Christy Feig told the audience: 'He lived life so fast it was as if, on some level, he knew his life was going to be cut short.' | Communications director Christy Feig told the audience: 'He lived life so fast it was as if, on some level, he knew his life was going to be cut short.' |
That drew a round of applause, followed by others as tributes recalled a warm, generous traveller who remained "a Blackpool lad at heart". | That drew a round of applause, followed by others as tributes recalled a warm, generous traveller who remained "a Blackpool lad at heart". |
Glenn's twin sister, Tracey Withers, and her daughter Brittany, concluded the poems at the service with one written especially for the occasion, in which the first-line letters spelled out Glenn's name. | |
It ended: 'A comforting feeling it gives to me / Sadly this was your destiny'. | It ended: 'A comforting feeling it gives to me / Sadly this was your destiny'. |
'A wonderful person' | 'A wonderful person' |
Mr Thomas, who lived in Geneva, was one of 10 people from the UK who died in the crash. | Mr Thomas, who lived in Geneva, was one of 10 people from the UK who died in the crash. |
He was travelling to Australia for an Aids conference in his WHO role when the plane came down. | |
Dutch experts say the aircraft broke up in mid-air but there was "no evidence of technical or human error". | Dutch experts say the aircraft broke up in mid-air but there was "no evidence of technical or human error". |
Mr Thomas had worked as a journalist for the BBC and Granada before moving to Switzerland. | Mr Thomas had worked as a journalist for the BBC and Granada before moving to Switzerland. |