There was laughter as well as tears at St Leonards School on
Saturday as about 500 people attended the ''celebration of
the lives of Bradley and Ellen Livingstone''.
The celebratory atmosphere was created at the request of the
children's mother, Katharine Webb, who wanted the ceremony to
focus on the happiness the children brought and the happy
times they shared with all who knew them.
Bradley (9) and Ellen (6) were shot by their father, Edward
Livingstone, as they slept at their nearby Kiwi St home on
As the sun shone warmly on the ceremony held overlooking
Otago Harbour, there were many questions passing through the
minds of those present.
Why? How could this happen in this quiet little corner of
In the end, all that could be done was rally together and
support the children's mother, Katharine Webb.
And support her they did in large numbers. St Leonards School
principal Jo Wilson reminded Ms Webb she would never be
''The community has got your back,'' she said. Children
attended the funeral wearing bright colours as a tribute to
Ellen, who was known for her ''quite out there'' fashion
Music was a major part of the service and included Bradley's
favourite song, Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell, and a
piece written especially for the funeral by one of his
Among the touching tributes was one from the children's
mother, who described her son as ''a very get-up-and-go sort
She said he was a dab hand in the kitchen, he was interested
in how things worked, and once he put his mind to something,
it was hard to stop him.
Ellen, on the other hand, was ''the complete opposite to
Bradley'', she said.
She loved art, dancing, singing, was not shy of cameras, and
she was something of a free spirit - especially when it came
to dressing herself.
She had fantastic hair-dos and her favourite thing to wear
was T-shirts layered one on top of the other, with the top
T-shirt worn over her head like a bolero jacket.
Despite their differences, the two had a great bond, Ms Webb
''They played really well together, but they also knew how to
wind each other up.
''My beautiful children, who were so caring. They were my
life, and still are, and I will love them forever and ever
Tears flowed in the congregation at her moving tribute.
However, overall, there was a great deal of laughter,
particularly at some of the anecdotes from people who knew
the family well.
One of Ellen's teachers recounted how she discovered Ellen
and one of her friends after they had put make-up on their
faces using a permanent marker pen.
''It took a lot of scrubbing to clean it off,'' she said.