#Driehoek funeral: Marli Currie will never experience puppy love

When Marli Currie's mother could not find her daughter in seven hospitals, nor on the list at Hoërskool Driehoek, it felt like "someone was pressing my throat shut and I could not breathe".

This is what Annelie Currie wrote in her message on the funeral letter for Marli - one of the four pupils who died at the Vaal school after a walkway collapsed on February 1.

"And after hours and hours of searching, you were one of God's flowers which the Lord plucked."

About 600 people attended Marli's funeral at the NG Suid Gemeente in Vanderbijlpark on Friday morning. 

Her father Morné wrote that Marli had wanted to talk to him about having a boyfriend.

"You said you want a boyfriend and my words to you were that if you get an 70% average for all your subjects and 70% for maths, then we can talk about it. I remember clearly what you told me: 'Then it is never going to happen.' That was probably mean of me, but I did not want someone to break your heart."

Her brother Keanu wrote that he will miss fighting with Marli about who gets the passenger seat in the car.

"You don’t have to worry about Max (Marli's dachshund), I will look after him," Keanu said in his message to his sister.

Dr Eon Coetzee led the service and spoke about how the disciples must have felt after following Jesus Christ for about three years before he told them he was going to be crucified. He also drew parallels between Job's seemingly endless struggles in the Bible and the tragedy at Hoërskool Driehoek.

"I’m convinced the disciples stood at a distance and said to each other: 'Now nothing makes sense anymore.' This is the biggest tragedy that can happen … Where is God now? Did God forget him [Jesus]?"

Coetzee said the community can empathise with the disciples as they have been left mulling over many questions after the tragedy.

"Was this really necessary? One could ask questions such as why these children? These four and no others. One could ask, could this cement block not have fallen overnight or during the holidays?"

Coetzee said the community could depend on their faith and ask God what they could learn in this difficult time.

Marli was a member of the UTEG Taekwondo club. Fellow club members formed a guard of honour outside the church as mourners made their way outside before releasing balloons.

Basic education minister Angie Motshekga attended the funeral and called the deaths a "freak accident" and one of the "saddest moments" in the education sector.

"We regard them as our children. All of them," Motshekga said.

"The school is well-built but unfortunately I think there were structural problems. So, for me, it's really an unfortunate accident. It’s not typical of the infrastructure challenges that we are facing."