Family gathers to remember Lorna

Family and friends of a slain Dubai businesswoman spent the day remembering all the good times they had shared to keep her memory alive.

From right, Lorna Lim Varona’s husband Pablo Varona, their daughters Maria Liz and Maria Lourdes, and Lorna’s sister Dr Lolita Lim, last year marked her first anniversary at St Mary’s Church in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The NationalShow less

ABU DHABI // Family and friends of a Filipina businesswoman who was brutally murdered in Dubai two years ago spent Tuesday remembering all the good times they shared to keep her memory alive.

Tuesday marked the second anniversary of Lorna Lim Varona’s death.

“We prepared a small dedicated mass for her,” said her son Joseph Luke Varona, 29, from Manila.

“Life has been tough for the family, especially without her, but we’re making it work.

“This was what she prepared us for while we were growing up, but for it to really happen this early was a real challenge for us.”

His sister Maria Lourdes, 31, who will be visiting her mother’s grave in Manila on Wednesday, agreed.

“It’s been challenging but with God’s grace we were able to cope and carry on with our new roles,” she said from Manila.

“Our family is doing well, with our dad being hands on.”

Mrs Varona, 51, was found dead on August 31, 2012, almost a week after she was reported missing.

She had been stabbed at least six times. Police found her body stuffed in a bag in the boot of her car, a Jaguar S-Type, in Sharjah’s Industrial Area 11.

“We’ve faced the fact that she physically isn’t there for us anymore but we feel her presence every day,” Joseph Luke said.

“I personally miss the family vacations that she would always initiate every year,” Maria Lourdes said.

“She would always say that no matter how busy we are with work, we should always find time to get together and spend quality time together.”

Their sister Maria Liza, 26, is helping her father Pablo to manage the family’s business, a travel agency called Sea World Tourism.

Brother Joseph Louis, 27, has a new job in Hong Kong and has plans to visit Manila this weekend.

Mr Varona, who retired in October last year, has lived in Dubai since 1978. The couple met in 1980 and married a year later.

“She made people believe in themselves,” Joseph Luke said. “She instilled in us the fact that hard work and dedication can get you somewhere.”

Mrs Varona launched the popular Capricorn Bakery in Karama in 1987 and sold it in 2004.

At the time of her death she owned four businesses: Sea World Tourism, a typing office, a general trading company and Capricorn Star Building Cleaning and Technical Services.

The family decided to keep Sea World Tourism and sell the rest.

“Incidentally, Luke, Louis and I are taking up a master’s degree in business administration to commemorate her passing,” said Maria Lourdes, who now has a nine-month-old son named Sebastianne Bryan.

“My mum, who’s a successful businesswoman, now serves as my role model as a mother.

“I will definitely be applying her parenting style that made me and my siblings the way we are now.”

The family still has no closure, despite Mrs Varona’s killer having his 15-year jail term increased to life at the Dubai Appeals Court in April this year, she said.

Prosecutors charged R A with premeditated murder and asked Dubai Criminal Court in June last year to hand him the death penalty.

“She was taken from us too soon in a very brutal manner,” Maria Lourdes said.

“And even if the man was sentenced to life imprisonment, that will still not bring our mum back. However, it gives us great comfort knowing that God is always with people like us who are grieving. He listened to our prayers, gave us the strength to accept the loss of our mum and move forward.”

Jun Tupas, a former colleague of Mr Varona, offered words of comfort to the family.

“My prayers are with the family as they celebrate her life today,” he said. “May God continue to guide and bless the family.”

Mr Tupas, who has known the family for more than 20 years, last spoke to Mr Varona this year.

“I got the chance to speak to Pablo a few months ago,” Mr Tupas said.

“He and his children are coping remarkably well after Lorna’s passing.

“Lorna’s legacy will live on after her death, and she will continue to be an inspiration to her family and those whose lives she has touched.”