Hugh Jackman sang a moving tribute during the funeral service for his late mother-in-law Fay Duncan on Thursday (01Sep16).The Australian actor flew back to his homeland with wife Deborra-Lee Furness in August (16) to be with her sick mother Fay, and she passed away on Sunday (28Aug16), aged 81, after a long illness. The couple paid their respects to Fay at her funeral on Thursday surrounded by friends, family and celebrity guests including Eric Bana, actress Tottie Goldsmith and entertainers Bert and Patti Newton at St John's Anglican Church in the Toorak suburb of Melbourne.
Photographs obtained by the Daily Mail Australia show Hugh comforting his visibly upset wife as they walk besides the white coffin and stand outside the church. Hugh paid tribute to Fay during the service by singing Quiet Please, There?s a Lady on Stage from the musical The Boy From Oz, which he won a Tony for in 2004, reports the Australia's Herald Sun. He previously sang the Broadway tune at Joan Rivers' memorial service in 2014. Australian singer Kate Ceberano performed a version of Amazing Grace, while Deborra-Lee delivered an emotional eulogy, in which she described her mother as ?kind, caring and loving" and reminisced about her childhood. ?I got to witness mum?s incredible strength, grace, courage, and dignity," she added, reports the Herald Sun. ?Every single person who came in contact would say to me ?what a beautiful lady? and that she was. ?She?s now left us, but only on a physical realm, a little bit of Fay will live on in all of us... I know she will continue to guide me and my family.?
Hugh, who has been married to Deborra-Lee since 1996, also paid tribute on Instagram by sharing a picture of him leaning behind Fay, who was sat in her wheelchair, and wrote, "I'm blessed to say Fay Duncan was my Mother in Law. She was one of the greatest women I've ever met. Wise, funny, loving, cheeky, generous, and a true leader. "She had an incredible gift for always being right ?. which must have been a true burden for her as she was also incredibly patient with us mere mortals. Fay, I love you more than words can express." Fay helped found the Fight Cancer Foundation, of which Hugh is patron, and was presented with the Order of Australia medal earlier this year (16) for her charity work.
