Thursday, February 24, 2011

Gary Moore laid to rest Wednesday

Renowned guitarist Gary Moore was laid to rest on Wednesday, in a small village graveyard outside Brighton.

Moore passed away in his sleep February 6 at the age of 58, from a heart attack while on holiday in Spain.

The Belfast Telegraph reports Moore’s family decided to hold his funeral not in Belfast, where he was born, but near where he had made his home in the past 15 years and where his children live.

Father Martin Morgan, who conducted the service in St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean, East Sussex, described Moore as “the kind of musician who would play anywhere if someone lent him an amp.”

He recounted how the world famous rock guitarist had performed in a local pub to raise funds for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

“They asked lots of people to play but Gary was the only one who turned up. Not only did he perform, his amp broke down, but Gary kept playing and managed to finish his set. He was someone who took the talent he was given and used it to touch the soul of others. I believe, for this generosity, Gary is in Heaven,” Fr Morgan told mourners.

The guitarist is survived by four children — Saoirse, Lily, Jack and Gus.

Lily spoke of her father as “a man with rather colourful shirts, who possessed a childlike quality and was an inspiration to many and the kind of person you could never forget”.

The musician's other daughter, Saoirse, chose a verse for the service called Guitar Poem.

One of the musician's two sons, Jack, himself a guitarist, performed a flawless version of "Danny Boy" on guitar at which some mourners in the church wept openly.

The service concluded with Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" as Moore's coffin was carried out of the church for burial in the graveyard outside.

The family has requested that donations in memory of Gary be given to the Teenage Cancer Trust and a special needs charity project.

For more details, check out the Belfast Telegraph here.

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See also:

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Gary Moore funeral set for this weekend
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BREAKING NEWS: Gary Moore found dead