In Loving Memory of Maniccadevan Thirunavukkarasu's 4th Year Remembrance. He was Born in Sempima, Valvetti, Jaffna And Lived in Gaborone, Botswana and London, UK.

As people live longer, they live several different lives. In the short time that Appa was with us, he lived so many lives to count. Appa was never the type of person who could sit still, always wanting to learn more, explore the world and help everyone he could. He was humble in his successes and extremely hard working. He selflessly sacrificed so much for us and our wider family and we will always be thankful for that. Every accomplishment or milestone in our lives is bittersweet knowing he is not physically here to enjoy it with us. Although we are sure he was watching over us as we progress in our careers and leave our family home.

Hosting a family wedding without Appa was one of the most bittersweet experiences we could have imagined. It’s still hard to celebrate such joyous occasions after experiencing such a great loss. We couldn’t help but think about how much emptier every event feels without having Appa here to make us laugh and guide us through them. He was the life of the party so the idea of having a wedding without his presence or not seeing him on the dance floor full of his friends and family was tough. We know he would have been so excited to welcome Kish (his ‘Police Boy’) and the loving Chandrakumars into our already supportive family.

We’re so thankful to everyone who attended the festivities and helped us during that time. Many of our loved ones flew in for the celebrations and we got to reminisce on many great memories we all shared of Appa. We always look forward to hearing stories about him and the funny things he would say or do, or seeing the pictures of him people have come across over the years. Knowing that he’s in your thoughts means a lot to us because he is always in ours.

Losing Appa is the hardest thing we’ve ever been through. Time is the only thing that can come close to healing the pain of losing the best father we could have asked for, but we would be lost without the help and support we have received from our loved ones. We would like to express our deepest appreciation and sincerest gratitude to everyone who has supported us since our loss. Thank you to our friends and family who were there with us in Botswana, South Africa and everyone who continues to support us here in the UK. We are also extremely grateful to still have people who check in on us as grief is something that never disappears and it reminds us how much you cared about him.

Having such an amazing Appa is an honour. We’re so lucky to be his family. We are thankful that you have kept us in your prayers and hearts. We will cherish the memories we share with him and those you have shared with us. Through your presence, messages and calls, we have been able to witness what Appa has meant to his community all over the world.

Appa, we miss you every day. Thank you for everything you have done for us. We hope we are making you proud.

All our love,

Amma, Nitha, Pragi boy and Prash