Anastasia Tan Sharon completed her Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the St Ignatius Church in Petaling Jaya in 2020. She drowned in the Johor floods and her body was found on Monday. [Edited at 3.20pm on March 10, 2023.]
By Bob Ho MARCH 8. 2023
Ever bubbly, ever polite and ever helpful — this is how her sisters and brothers in Christ will forever remember Anastasia Tan Sharon.
All the more so, because they journeyed together in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) class of St John at the St Ignatius Church, PJ, in 2019.
Sharon, 23, drowned when the car she was driving was swept away in rising flood waters in Mersing on Monday morning. Her body was recovered the same night. [Edited at 3.20pm on March 10, 2023.]
The class of St John, who were baptised on 5 Sept 2020, were still reeling from the shock over Sharon’s sudden death.
Their RCIA facilitator Agnes Loh delivered the sad news through the WhatsApp group chat, St John 2019: “Dear All, I don’t know how to inform you of this tragedy. Our dearest Sharon just passed away. I am in shock!”
Catherine Yong said: “Sharon, Christine & I have always been the 3 musketeers in class during our RCIA 2019-2020 journey.
“She was always the happy and bubbly lil girl in the class and she will be dearly missed by us all … our memories with her are kept in our hearts forever”.
For Christine Chow, “Her sunshiny and pretty face always warms me up. Sharon will always be our little girl.”
“You are always loved and will never be forgotten,” wrote Sara Goh.
Everyone, including Pat Ngiau, Adrian Clark Batucal and Christopher Lee, was saddened by the tragedy.
Agnes described Sharon as “a little girl to me”. She recalled a message Sharon sent her last year: “Thank you mama for your wishes. I will not be a stranger.”
She remembered Sharon as a good RCIA student, one who was “open, absorbing and willing to learn”.
Sharon was also a member of Persatuan Alam & Warisan Bukit Fraser, which posted in its facebook: “Fraser’s Hill mourns the loss of Tan Sharon. Our deepest condolences to Uncle Kit’s entire family and everyone who loves Sharon … Sharon will always be remembered for her positivity, enthusiasm and much more.”
Upon receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation she was very active in church, always willing to help others and served in the hospitality ministry. [Edited at 3.20pm on March 10, 2023.]
Sharon, the second in the family of five siblings, celebrated her birthday on Dec 21 last year. Her parents live in Fraser’s Hill.
Funeral mass will be held at 10am tomorrow (9 March) at SIC.
UPDATE (added at 3.20pm on March 10)
About 100 family members, relatives attended the funeral mass at SIC on March 9. Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng, CDD described Sharon as a “smiling angel” who brought cheer to all she interacted with.
Fr Lawrence also conducted the Rite of Committal at Bliss Gardens Memorial Park in Shah Alam.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May the soul of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
We at Journey With Us – Asia offer our condolences to the family and friends of Sharon.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul rest in peace. Amen
