The killing of pregnant mother of two Sarah Montgomery has left a “deep wound” on her family and the community where she lived, her funeral has been told.
The service of thanksgiving for Ms Montgomery and her unborn son Liam Arthur at Donaghadee parish church also heard that she was a born carer with a heart of gold.
Ms Montgomery (27) died at her home in Elmfield Walk in the Co Down town last month. A man has appeared in court charged with her murder.
Her death led to renewed focus on the rate of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland and hundreds of people attended a vigil in her memory last week.
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The service of thanksgiving on Thursday followed a family service of committal earlier in the day.
Rector of Donaghadee Rev Ian Gamble told the service: “The tragic death of Sarah and baby Liam has left a deep wound on a close and quiet family in our town.
“It has left a deep wound on the community up in Elmfield and across Donaghadee.
“Sarah Montgomery was a quiet and much-loved Donaghadee girl. A young mother, sister, a loving daughter to her late parents and a cherished granddaughter,” he said.
She had many friends from her days at school in our town and she was very much a part of our local community, he said.
Rev Kathy Couchman, who officiated at the service, said the family had been “totally overwhelmed” by the support received from Donaghadee and further afield.
She added: “Sarah grew up in Donaghadee; this is where she spent her life and where she was so involved in the life of the town and her community.”
Rev Couchman said Sarah was a “born carer”.
“Her friends and family have all spoken of how she had a heart of gold, of how caring she was, not only towards people she knew but to anyone who needed help,” she said.
Ms Montgomery’s two daughters had been the “centre of her world”, she said, adding that she was “so looking forward to being a mummy also to her baby, Liam Arthur”.
“She had everything ready to welcome him to this world, to her family and to her girls. Thoughtful as ever, Sarah had had clothes prepared for Liam Arthur, embroidered with his name,” she said.
“Sarah and Liam Arthur and his sisters should have a future ahead of them, but that future has been brutally and unjustly snatched away from them, and from their family and friends.
“This isn’t right; this isn’t how it should be, and we must not lose sight of the fact that it is neither right nor is it in any way excusable,” she said. – PA
