Mum vows to honour last wishes

LAST MONDAY, 24-year-old Kelly-Ann Welch gave her mother a list of what she wanted at her funeral. But Glendene Welch would never have imagined at the time that five days later she would have to  think of honouring her daughter’s final wishes.“She told me that she wanted only pretty colours at her funeral and that she did not want her face made up by the funeral home because she did not like the make-up that they used. She told me to use her own powder. “She said she wanted Jo-Ann Jones to look after her funeral arrangements and that she did not want the service held at a certain church,” Glendene sadly recalled yesterday as she tried to deal with the untimely death of her only daughter, who perished in Friday night’s blaze at Campus Trendz in Tudor Street.The conversation took place while the family was attending the funeral of Kobea Brathwaite, a close friend of Kelly-Ann’s, who was murdered two weeks ago.Family friend Vern Cave said when she heard Kelly-Ann giving her mother the list during the funeral service, she laughed and poked her in the side but said that Kelly-Ann, who was wearing a floral dress at the funeral, was very serious about her requests. “I have to honour her wishes,” Glendene said as she struggled to choke back the tears.The woman, who also has a son Shannon, said she spoke to her daughter around 6 p.m. on Friday.“She called me and told me that she went to the bank and withdraw some money and that she would soon be coming home.”An hour later Glendene received the news from a friend that her daughter was possibly trapped in a store which was on fire.By the time she got to Tudor Street, The City, all she could do was stand in a daze and watch the commotion around her.Several hours later, with her son Shannon at her side, Glendene walked into the store after the fire was finally extinguished and looked upon the body of her daughter.“She only had a few burns on her hand. The police told me that she died from smoke inhalation.”Glendene said the hardest part was breaking the devastating news to her four-year-old granddaughter Khalia, whom family members described as Kelly-Ann’s life.“When we told her, she cried and said her mummy was taking her to Chefette today,” Glendene said, a small smile appearing on her ogrief-stricken face for the first time.Aunt Sandra Welch said Kelly-Ann worked at NCO on Harbour Road for about four years but was laid off last week. (MB)