My dear Aunty Peppa was my Nanna's sister in-law and best friend. She was ninety-seven years old when she passed away last weekend and her funeral yesterday was one of the most moving I have ever attended. Her life was testimony to the incredible faith and unconditional love that she possessed and shared with all those who encountered her.

Josephine or 'Peppa' as she was affectionately referred to by those who loved her, lived a long life that was often filled with tragedy, heartache and disappointment. Yet, her steadfast companions in this life were faith, hope and courage.

In her ninety-seven years on this earth Peppa endured two world wars in Malta. Hence, considering that Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the second world war you can then appreciate how terrifying this must have been for young Peppa. Also, at this time Peppa as a young teenager was compelled to raise her younger siblings, after her dear mother tragically passed away during childbirth.

She would then later fall in love, marry and have five children of her own. Peppa watched them grow and in turn marry and have children, as the cycle of life so faithfully continues. But with life also comes tragedy, and so Peppa had to endure what every mother dreads - the death of her own child.

Hence, as she gathered her grandchildren to her side, she looked on helplessly as they buried her dear daughter, who had died suddenly from an aneurysm at the age of thirty-eight. A few years later, and now in her late sixties, Peppa chose to leave her beloved Malta, and immigrated to Australia to help raise and watch over her grandchildren who were now motherless. The one thing she felt to do in life was to love and nurture those around her and this she would do even if it meant having to leave the land of her birth.

Shortly thereafter Peppa had to endure the unthinkable, as once again she had to bury yet another child when her son was tragically and suddenly ripped from this life without warning. In the midst of great grief and despair Peppa did what she knew to do best - she loved selflessly and she stood steadfast in her faith affirming to those around her that 'this too shall pass'.

How does one heal after such loss and heartache?

How does one find the courage to endure in the face of such devastation?

But Peppa didn't just endure, she lived, loved, guided, prayed and faithfully watched over the next generation.

My cousins husband Brett had the ominous task of delivering the eulogy at Aunty Peppa's funeral yesterday. Many things were shared about this incredible woman's life, but there is one thing that stood out that I wanted to share with you. Brett said that he often likened Peppa's heart to a tuning fork and that 'the harder you struck it, the louder it sang'.

For those of us who had the privilege of knowing and loving Peppa in this life know that this wasn't a flippant or trite analogy, but was in fact the truth as this frail, wisen old women had the heart of a lion.

Our world is frightfully full of celebrity, ambition and greed, yet it's people like Peppa who are the real stars in this life. You know what I'm talking about and you know who they are when you meet them, because your life is changed for the better for having known them.