‘Sheer gratitude’: Celebration honours N.B. teen who inspired kindness movement
RIVERVIEW, N.B. — A New Brunswick teen who inspired a movement dedicated to spreading acts of kindness was remembered Wednesday as a courageous, big-hearted person who never let her terminal diagnosis get in the way of celebrating the generosity of others.
More than 700 people gathered at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Riverview, N.B., for an ecumenical funeral service in honour of 18-year-old Rebecca Schofield, who died of brain cancer on Saturday.
“While we gather in sorrow, the more dominant feeling in my own heart is one of sheer gratitude,” said Rev. Phil Mulligan.
In December 2016, when doctors determined she had only months to live, Schofield drafted a bucket list that included a request for people to record personal acts of kindness on social media with the hashtag #BeccaToldMeTo. Schofield’s Facebook post went viral, attracting heartfelt responses from around the world.