MIRI: Father Anthony Wan of the Miri Catholic Church was laid to rest at the Catholic cemetery after some 3,000 people bade him a final farewell.
Father Wan, 60, who often walked for hours in the deep jungle to reach Catholics living in remote areas, died last Thursday night of heart failure.
His funeral service was presided over by head of the Miri Catholic Diocese Reverend Bishop Anthony Lee Kok Hin.
More than a dozen priests from throughout the state and neighbouring states also attended the three-hour service at the jam-packed St Joseph Cathedral in Miri.
Caroline Dungan, in her 20s, who came with her family from a longhouse in the Long Lama sub-district some six hours by timber road, said Father Wan was a special person who had served God with absolute dedication.
“Father Wan would walk more than five hours through thick jungles and swamps from the nearest jetty to our longhouses.
“Sometimes, when it rained, he would arrive totally drenched, and he joked that he had swam all the way in the Baram River,” she said.
Bishop Lee, who had known Father Wan for close to 40 years, said the deceased was an exceptional man.
“He had never complained no matter where he was sent to serve. He had always obeyed. He is an example for all to follow,” said Bishop Lee.
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