More than 300 people gathered today at the funeral of Pastor Bill Rosas, who died at 94 years of age.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Held at Katherine Heritage Church, family members, pastors and friends remembered him as a story teller, a jokester with a contagious laugh and a role model for young pastors.
Some roads in Katherine were closed for the hearse and procession of cars on their way to the gravesite.
Born in 1924 in Kulara to parents George and Annie Rosas of the Yidinji Tribe, Mr Rosas moved to Katherine in the early 80's, planting churches across Far North Queensland and the NT on his way.
Married to Madge Leftwich, who has also passed away, the couple dedicated their time to education, family and according to the eulogy provided by Kevin Leftwich, "serving the Lord by spreading the word to many communities in North Queensland, the Katherine region and in the Kimberley region".
"I don't feel the pain of losing uncle Bill," Mr Leftwich said today, "because I will see him again".
"I thank the Lord he showed the way. He was a rock," he said.
"We heard and felt a lot of love from across the country when uncle Bill was in the hospital.
"When he was laying there we read scriptures to him and he responded to that… Even though he was in a coma I believe he heard all that."
The dedicated christian played a big part in opening the Katherine Heritage Church, and spent many Sundays at the Hostel nursing home.
Today's celebration of Pastor Bill Rosas was filled with joyful memories from many family members as well as tearful goodbyes. The sheer amount of people who stood to pay tribute made for a long service, lasting more than two hours.
The service included four of the Pastor's favourite hymns, as well as prayers from Pastor Andrew McAllan.
William Rosas, Roderick Liversidge, Matthew Rosas, Kerryn Rosas, Daniel Rosas and Malcolm Rosas started the service escorting the casket laden with flowers to the front of the church.
The service was concluded with the family members carrying the casket to the hearse, where a police escort was waiting.
Family members travelled to the funeral from across the Territory and as far as Queensland.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.