The text of Mr. Reinhard Weihmann's speech:

 

A very familiar person preceded you all.

We see a really beautiful picture of her. But not herself and yet, I am sure, Mónica is still very close to all of you. The memory and the grief make a person appear again in the heart. Today perhaps even more clearly than before. And that's why we're together, to look lovingly at all that's past. Lovingly to the life of your dear wife, to the life of your sister, your good relatives, your friend and of course especially your daughter-in-law.

And to help with this reflection and as the answer to our personal conversation about their life together, I have selected verses by Erich Fried, which shows and expresses a piece of what Mónica lived, felt, did and conveyed.

And so it says here:

"Speaking again of the warmth of life, so that some may know: it is not warm, but it could be warm. Before I die I'll talk about love again, so that some people will say: It was there, it must be. Talking about happiness again, the hope for happiness, so that some might ask: What was that? When will it come back?

 

So, with these thoughts of hope, togetherness, and light, and loving memories of Monica, let us pause and, after a brief pause, hear Helena's thoughts.

 

(Helena's speech came at this point)

 

Dear family, dear Helena and all of us, dear friends: we are all saying goodbye to a woman with whom you felt a close connection for a long time, regardless of the time. And this also happened in love or in decades of friendship,

That this is not an easy time, not an easy day today, because the feeling that makes us uneasy belongs in all of our hearts quite naturally.

That changes us. And yet it is precisely these signs of grief that point to what is perhaps the most important feeling in our lives. The feeling that you, as a husband, represent for everyone, that you conveyed to Helene for us today in a very warm and balanced way.

And that combined with the feeling that brings us together, that holds us, that carries us and that she recognizes the deceased.

of gratitude.

 

Gratitude and sadness are closely related, and I sincerely wish you all that as time goes on, indeed with each passing moment, gratitude can prevail.

 

And it is precisely in this sense and on behalf of her that I look at a few stations in her life and would rather shed light on the meaning of her time, our time and everything in the future.

 

So we now look at the life of a person, her dear wife, Mr. Große, the daughter-in-law, the long-standing friend, at the life of the yoga master and of course very particularly, and you have known her the longest, at the life of her sister and the daughter.

 

So sometimes we believe that we know life and that we know a person. I don't think that ever really happens. We don't know 100% everything about the person at our side. Rather, there is a secret behind every human being. With the paths that she went, maybe also some detours. To fathom this secret, hers, ours, the secret of life in general. It's worth it in many ways, it's worth it because of Monica's really rich life, even if you, and you in particular, would have wished for many more years.

 

So let's look back far too briefly to Sunday morning, August 18, 1968, when she was born in the San Rafael Hospital in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, in the port on the Rio Magdalena River.

She stayed there for another 2 years until she went to Bogotá with her parents, again 2 years later to Manizales and again a year later to Puente Mayorga in Cadiz in Spain. They stayed there for 2 years, then in 1976 they went back to Bogotá.

 

And that for a relatively long time, at least almost 23 years. Since childhood and adolescence on the one hand, which held many surprises.

When she was only 4 years old, she was interested in using and practicing letter writing. Learned the alphabet from a very young age. Drawing animals, because nature was very close from the start. And she tried to teach her sister Claudia, who was a year younger, how we say it.

Inquisitive, curious, interested. One of the many headlines we could put about Monica's life.

On the one hand, there was the profession she was learning, entrepreneurial finance, having previously trained as an industrial engineer. Other specializations. She knew her way around the world. In the structure that on the one hand can function financially but also structural companies.

And the time when she was looking for language, to perfect the English. That was fateful. Because at some point there was a bus trip there in distant Australia, a bus trip. First glances met, dear Mr. Große. And they noticed quite quickly that so many looks followed. And a good sense of familiarity grew.

You could almost say sympathy or love, the first, second or third look, who knows. Rather, it was important that you stayed together.

And now it's going back. They got married pretty quickly on April 7, 2001 in Großräschen.

 

Not just for her delight. To the delight of her mother, of course. The family got a little bigger. And then came the decision to go here to Berlin. To Berlin to work together in their company. And you said very respectfully with appreciation, Mr. Große, that really touched me deeply, how she managed to recognize structures, to optimize the "shop" so quickly, simply to make some things more fluid. That maybe time was saved and there was more time for creativity.

That was part of the common thread of her life. Just live, do, reflect, listen a lot, absorb and be able to process and implement it very attentively.

 

All in all, Monica was a very fun-loving, open-minded woman. Honest to others. Equipped with above-average intelligence. And so she approached people, interested in fates, in events and always cheerfully. With open eyes to the world, fair with others, friendly, approachable.

Time they could enjoy together. Time that you now partly have to miss and on the other hand, this raises the question: what is left behind, what each and every one of you can keep in your heart, what remains valid after the death of a loved one.

 

She was interested in many directions, of course she was also focused on her own interests since she became ill many years ago. Then she let herself into all the topics that were related to the disease. Following your words, dear Mr. Große, I was able to exchange ideas with doctors on an equal footing.

 

Extraordinary, maybe sometimes even frightening for the physicians, who soon and sometimes discovered their own gaps in knowledge. Quietly letting herself be read to, without ever wanting to have acted as a teacher.

 

Such a remarkable person. A good, as the father wrote, strong character. Literally curiosity about the environment, also a taste for order and cleanliness. As we have already heard today and will continue to hear: interest in a wide variety of music, including movement, dance and, of course, always beautiful new clothes.

 

Time that they shaped together, time that they also helped determine and lived with. And not only here locally, often also on excursions far away on the numerous journeys they undertook. Egypt, you mentioned, Italy, the city of love in France, Paris, around the Benelux countries, Denmark and of course several times to Bogotá to the family, otherwise also to Santa Marta on the coast, in the Amazon and Providencia, her very nice, little favorite island, dear Mr. Große.

 

Yes, I might say, to sum it up, that there were times and places where they felt good and always drew strength. Strength for the tasks that have always been waiting here on site, both in the company and for other things.

 

And so it's good that you don't let it be forgotten. How nice that there is a website for travel destinations, a project against forgetting. Rather a project of absorbing the beautiful diversity. And that also means that she continued her education in languages. At the places could also communicate. languages ​​and was very familiar with the realm of yoga and knew how to move. As a practitioner as well as a teacher.

 

And once again the question, what remains? What can each and every individual keep in their hearts that remains valid after the death of a loved one?

And if we look for it and ask about it, then it is quite natural that the images take a stroll in front of our inner eye. That the memories suddenly become a bit more awake. Especially with her optimism and happiness, of course, with her love for the animals Chanda, Mocosa, Mocoso and Pellitos, to name kittens and also puppies.

 

Always happy, adventurous and, above all, in good physical condition, persevering. So she was well received everywhere. Got along well with some and with many people. She is referred to as the very good daughter and, of course, wife. Concerned about her well-being, worried about her parents, both sisters, who were also here, who are very close to us in thought.

After Helena, I also greet Veronica and Claudia again very warmly in this speech. And you, of course, as her husband. There are the images of the past, the images she found in nature. The physical exercises, swimming, cycling and much more. The many trips to good restaurants. Where then the coincidence, 18,000 kilometers away from the former friendship, to meet again here as school friends. Yes, the time here was one thing, the longing another. How much she would have liked not only to make a flying visit to Bogotá every year, but also to be able to continue to experience the country in her old age. This wish remains unfulfilled. And yet the plan lives on. The feeling that she was also very connected to our homeland.

And that has something to do with a very inner feeling that we also associate with people and what is connected to what remains of them.

 

Erich Fried describes it with his simple words as with the things that are hidden from our eyes and are very visible and tangible with our hearts. And that's not just the warmth of the sun like today, but the warmth of our hearts that we feel for one another. The warmth of the heart on the one hand, the love that means the central feeling and our happiness, what we can give each other. May all of Monica live that she meant to you. May their love and friendship continue to be part of your circle of life. Then I am certain that the power of these good thoughts and feelings will be able to master this path of grief. You will find your way through all the darkness of time to new hope and, in the spirit of Monica Große's life, work and humanity, to new light.

 

And light today is also the music she liked. So now you're listening to another piece of music of a completely different kind that you've been wanting. And we want to think lovingly of Monica and connect our very own thoughts of hope with it. The hope for tomorrow and any future time in our very personal community, the love and friendship for and with each other.

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