Michael and Marjorie Cawdery: Funeral for murdered couple

The funeral was held at Drumcree Parish Church

Murder victim Marjorie Cawdery has been described as "an incredibly soft-hearted" and generous person at the joint funeral for her and her husband.

The service for Marjorie and her husband, Michael, both 83, was held in Drumcree Parish Church in Portadown.

The pensioners' bodies were discovered by their daughter and son-in-law at their house in the town last month.

Paddy Cawdery told the funeral his brother "possessed a bright and inquisitive mind".

He said he used it to benefit others through the medical and veterinary communities in Britain and Ireland.

Marjorie and Michael Cawdery lived in Portadown's Upper Ramone Park

In his eulogy, Marjorie's nephew, Colin Wilkins, said: "She loved life and made everyone around her happy, with her positive sense of fun - and the fact that she was always more interested in other people rather than herself.

"Nobody who knew Marjorie will ever forget how special she was - we will carry memories of her in our hearts forever."

The couple's bodies were found by a relative

Rev Gary Galway told mourners that no-one could dispute that a horrible act had been committed and the family had been devastated by it.

However, he said they were there to celebrate the couple's lives and not the "unspeakable evil and wickedness" which took those lives away.

"A person once said that it is not words, but actions that speak louder and to witness love in action is a beautiful thing," he added.

"I have witnessed this love in action through the family, through friends, through the church and through the community and I have to say it is beautiful."

The funeral was told the couple met while working in Uganda and had spent a happy lifetime together. They married in Entebbe in 1962 before moving to Northern Ireland.

A 40-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murders.

Thomas Scott McEntee, from Moorfield Court in Kilkeel, County Down, is due to appear in court again on 23 June.