A woman who died after being found injured in Northern Ireland earlier this month has been remembered as a “loving mother” with an “unwavering” commitment to her work as a children’s nurse.
Karen Cummings was found unconscious at a house in the Laurel Heights area of Banbridge, Co Down, on December 14th and died a short time later.
Police have said the 40-year-old mother of two suffered a head injury.
Mourners lined the path to the Church of St Therese on a wet and rainy afternoon in Banbridge on Monday, while Ms Cummings’s friends, family and co-workers walked to the service behind the hearse, which was laden with flowers including ones that spelled out “Mum”.
At the funeral service two days before Christmas, Fr Aidan McGrath said Ms Cummings had been “taken from this world in the prime of her life”.
Fr McGrath said those present had gathered with a “profound sense of grief and devastation”, further expressing “love and support” to her family and friends.
He discussed her connections to the area, adding that she had worked a few jobs in the community before finding her “true vocation” as a nurse.
She had a degree in nursing from Queen’s University Belfast and worked in Daisy Hill Hospital.
Fr McGrath said: “Karen is remembered and missed by all who knew her as a loving mother, daughter, wife, granddaughter and friend.
“In her life and in her nursing career, Karen sought to respond with love and care to the needs of others.”
A photograph of Ms Cummings with her “precious son and daughter” Curtis and Zara was placed near the wooden coffin at the top of the church, alongside a nursing uniform as well as a Harry Potter mug and a dog lead to express her fondness for the series and her “much-loved” family pet.
Ms Cummings’s cousin Kelly described her as a “golden child” and said her family was “totally broken”.
Ms Cummings’s hospital colleagues described her as a calm, quiet and intelligent nurse who excelled in her work.
Other speakers during the service said those gathered were “heartbroken by the loss of Karen”.
Two men have been remanded in custody after appearing before a judge charged with Ms Cummings’s murder. – PA