Mourners grieve for “feisty” young Cairns girl

Cairns girl Rumer Maujean. MOURNERS have struggled to come to terms with how such a young and vibrant life could be taken so soon at the funeral for Cairns girl Rumer Rose Maujean, 3. Diagnosed in December 2014 with neuroblastoma, Rumer’s life was so short, there were few photos screened at Friday’s service in Mt Sheridan where she wasn’t pictured with a medical tube. During the ceremony, Rumer’s young sister Romany told guests how she would always miss her sister’s feisty ­attitude. “I miss your bright determined eyes, I miss your happy joyful voice, I miss the way you pointed your finger at people when telling them off,” ­Romany read. Rumer’s battle against cancer was not a private one – she was thrust into the international media spotlight after her father Adam Koessler faced court for cooking her food with cannabis oil in 2014.

But there was no mention of that at Friday’s farewell, with a letter penned by Rumer’s mother Sacha and read by a celebrant focusing on Rumer’s love of books, shopping, and her family. “She was such a girlie girl,” Ms Maujean wrote. “She’d say mummy, I have to wear a dress, I’m going shopping. She was so proper – a real little lady.” Ms Maujean wrote of her sadness at never getting the opportunity to see Rumer grow up and become a “naughty teenager”. Ms Maujean also told mourners how she had comforted her daughter in her final moments. “I said I’m here for you sweety, it’s OK,” she wrote. “I took her hand and she squeezed it really tight and I sang her the baby song she always asked for when she was scared or in pain. By the time I’d finished the song she’d stopped breathing – gone from this world but never forgotten, always living in my heart and dreams forever and ever.” Following the ceremony butterflies were released outside the chapel. http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/mourners-grieve-for-feisty-young-cairns-girl/news-story/c0cb8e3e03bed612a9d1710bf5072606