A white dove was released into the blue skies over her final resting place as the nation reflected on the spirit of Dame Lois Browne Evans.As her fellow countrymen mourned, the dove’s flight to the sounds of The Last Post carried the message of hope.

Bishop Vernon Lambe had told the hundreds gathered at the cemetery of St John The Evangelist in Pembroke: “We will stand by this grave not hopeless but hopeful.”

And as the dove took flight, people reflected.

The outpouring of love, affection and pride among Dame Lois Browne Evans’s fellow countrymen was evident from early yesterday morning as crowds lined the streets of Hamilton to say their final goodbyes.

Armed with chairs, radios, cameras and umbrellas they came, some dressed in black, others in brighter colours, but all grieving for their sister.

This momentous day for Bermuda started as overcast, damp and chilly but by the time Dame Lois was laid to rest, bright sunshine had enveloped the Island. By mid-afternoon the thousands gathered along the funeral procession route had to endure sweltering heat. But still they waited, listening to the Cathedral service and waiting to send Dame Lois off on her final journey.

The funeral cortege left Alaska Hall at 12.10 p.m., led by the Bermuda Regiment Band and Corps of Drums.

Carried aloft on a gun carrier, a Virginia Cedar coffin draped in a Union Jack bore Dame Lois’s body through the streets of Hamilton.

Young and old lined the route to the Anglican Cathedral. Families placed chairs on the sidewalk while children were pushed in strollers to wait for the chance to wave and share their sympathy and respects.

The motorcade included family members, Government dignitaries and Bermuda Industrial Union officials. The awaiting crowds waved to the family, shouting “lots of love”.

As the procession drew up in front of the Sessions House, where Dame Lois served both as a politician and barrister, a silence came over the crowds.

The loss of this woman, who did so much for Bermuda, was felt as flags held by supporters flapped in the breeze and the weight of the moment was conveyed through not so much as a whimper from the babies.

As the Regiment band began playing once more, their steps slowed and the mood became sombre as the funeral procession wound its way to the Cathedral.

Dame Lois was carried on the shoulders of eight soldiers, to cheers and applause of those lining the streets.

They listened through the three-hour service, and cheered and applauded once again as the coffin was carried back to the Regimental gun carrier for the final procession to her graveside.

As the Bermuda Regiment Band resumed their march, hundreds of relatives, friends and bystanders poured behind the coffin.

As the procession made its way along Church Street the crowd started singing the US civil rights anthem ‘We Shall Overcome’, and as they turned into Par-la-Ville Road it gained momentum. On the corner, two young boys dressed as Gombeys, saluted Dame Lois on either side of the road.

On reaching St John The Evangelist Church, hundreds packed into the cemetery, filling all available space between the graves on the hillside. Ironically she lived about 200 yards away from the church along St. John’s Road and the funeral procession passed - and paused - in front of her home on the way to the cemetery.

Dame Lois was brought to her final resting place to the strains of Verdi’s Slaves Chorus from Nabucco. Eight soldiers from the Bermuda Regiment carried her to her family’s grave and then gently folded up the British flag, replacing it with a bouquet of red roses and white carnations atop the coffin.

Bishop Vernon Lambe was joined by Reverends Nick Dill, Winston Rawlins and Donna Postlethwaite for the internment.

He described Dame Lois as “a mother, indeed mother for this country and its people”.

“Let her in her going and in her death represent what was said of Samson long ago — he did more in his death than he did in his life,” said Bishop Lambe.

“God has blessed us with this matriarch, with this leader, with this mother, to make us a better nation. As a son of the soil I have never been more refreshed in my determination to live a life of purpose.”

Then as a solitary bugle sang out The Last Post and Reveille, a single dove was released into the sky.

As one woman left the cemetery she sighed softly: “Oh Lord, she’s gone.”