THE Bathurst community farewelled one of its very best yesterday.
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Popular local baker Matt Carah’s funeral was a celebration of a life lost too soon.
Matt passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on October 26. He was only 39 years old.
Mourning the loss of their husband and father were Matt’s wife Audra and children Oliver, 5, and Archie, 2.
The outpouring of public emotion at St Michael and St John’s Cathedral yesterday typified the high esteem in which Matt was held by his family and friends.
It was a final tribute to a popular local businessman who always had a smile on his face.
Speaking on behalf of Audra, close family friend Tony Howarth told the congregation during the eulogy that her “fairytale had come to an end. We had everything we could possibly want in life”.
“If you could pick a husband from a catalogue, you would pick Matt every time.
“Family meant everything to us.”
Audra also noted how Matt adored his late father Terry and how the cafe he ran in Keppel Street was never the same with the passing of Matt’s good mates Dave Carroll and Dave Scott.
“He was my world and now my world has changed. That’s not OK, but it’s the way it will have to be. Matt, we miss you so much. Tears are rolling down my face as I write this. Every night we will blow you a kiss. We miss you so much.”
Sarah Gillman spoke on behalf of the staff at Carah’s Cakes and Pies.
“We all had a close friend in Matt,” she said. “He had a wicked sense of humour. He was a friend. A mentor. A confidante. A father figure to many.”
Matt’s brother Michael said that Matt loved his family so much.
“Audra, Ollie and Archie were his world,” he said. “His smile will forever be in our hearts and memories.”
Michael also told the congregation that Matt would always help everyone else first.
He spoke of his brother’s fanatic support for the Roosters rugby league team as well as being a sporting superstar himself, playing first grade rugby league, hockey and baseball with St Pat’s.
Father Greg Kennedy, who presided over the funeral, said: “Matt’s suicide has left us stunned and broken-hearted. We struggle with so many competing emotions. It makes us uncomfortable. We turn to God with grief, maybe anger and sadness.
“Matt’s death is a very hard reality, so we turn to God. There is no blame or shame or anger or hurt – only love.”
