You're beautiful so silently
It lies beneath a shade of blue
It struck me so violently
When I looked at you

“Dearly beloved, my name is Kurt Hummel-Anderson, and on behalf of myself and my family, I would like to thank you for gathering today to say goodbye to a beloved mother, wife, daughter and friend. A woman who was very obviously outwardly beautiful, but only let her loved ones see her true inner beauty.
Santana Lopez-Pierce was passionate and fierce, and she did not suffer fools easily. She fought for what she wanted, and, while she did not always get everything right, she stuck to her beliefs and fought for what she thought was right. She was always unapologetically herself, and, while she was not easy to get to know, once you were hers, you were hers forever.”

But others pass, they never pause
To feel that magic in your hand
To me, you're like a wild rose
They never understand why

“There were no limits as to how far she would go to care for and protect those she loved. And while her fierce protectiveness would in the end prove fatal, we all know without a doubt that she would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Ten years ago, my husband Blaine and I were blessed enough to share a beautiful wedding with Santana and Brittany. Five years ago, we decided to strengthen the family ties by choosing to have a child together. Everybody thought we were crazy. We would never find a balance and fight constantly. There would be jealousy and vindictiveness, and everybody would end up unhappy, especially our child.
What nobody but us could foresee was how extraordinarily beautiful life could turn out to be. We managed to find a balance in which everybody was an equal parent with equal responsibilities, but we also still had time for our personal passions. Our darling big boy, Matteo, has grown up surrounded by love, the same life we wanted for our precious baby Audrey.”

I cried for you
When the sky cried for you
And when you went
I became a hopeless drifter

“The day we got the call that there had been an accident was just like any other Saturday. Britt and I had just put Audrey down for a nap while Blaine was cooking, and Santana was supposed to be on the way back from her Mami & Mattie day with Matteo.
I will not relive all that happened—most of you know already. But to get a call saying they found their canoe drifting aimlessly with Santana missing was like nothing we could ever imagine in our worst nightmares. Those days of not knowing where she was and if she was alright simultaneously went incredibly fast and mindnumblingly slow. It was only the children that kept us from collapsing completely until we finally got that last call.”

But this life was not for you
Though I learned from you
That beauty need only be a whisper
I'll cross the sea for a different world
With your treasure a secret for me to hold

“Investigation showed that there was nothing that could have been done that Santana did not do. She ended up in an incredibly dangerous situation through no fault of her own, and she fought to keep her child safe from harm. She fought with everything she had within her to get them to safety. She fought and succeeded in saving her son. And even though help would come too late to save her, she also fought her hardest to stay with him. To survive for him and Audrey and Brittany. For her family.”

In many years they may forget
This love of ours or that we met
They may not know
How much you meant to me

“I have been elected to give this eulogy on behalf of all five of us. Britt has elected to say her goodbyes in a different way, and, through some strange twist of fate, Santana ended up being the best friend I ever had, besides Blaine, of course.”

“All five of us. How strange it feels to say that again. We had been a family of five for years, but, once Audrey arrived, it was like we couldn't even remember how it felt not to have a six person household.”

“When we decided to co-parent together, we pooled all our incomes and bought a lovely home in a safe neighbourhood. We all had a bit of a steep learning curve in cohabitating, but having already lived with Tana all through college, we had a foundation on which we could continue to build. We found ourselves having many late night chats on whatever worried us or just crossed our minds. Through morning sickness, foot rubs, and midnight snacks, we grew closer and closer until I could truly say that she was my platonic soulmate. In Santana, I had the perfect sparring partner for whenever either of us needed to let out our bitchiness. We could unload our negativity with each other when Blaine and Britt could not see where we came from in their optimism. My vulnerabilities were safe with her because she knew how it felt to desperately try to keep hold of a resting bitch face while silently crumbling on the inside.”

I cried for you
When the sky cried for you
And when you went
I became a hopeless drifter
But this life was not for you
Though I learned from you
That beauty need only be a whisper

“I do not know how we will continue on without you, San. You were such a vital part of our life and hearts. You grabbed hold of our hearts when we were only sixteen and seventeen years old, and you forcibly carved out a spot for yourself that could never be filled by anyone else. Your unique view on the world, your god awful sense of humour, your unwavering loyalty, your unconditional and fierce way of loving. You are the best friend I ever had, my partner in crime, the woman who gave life to our son. I simply do not know, San. There will never be another you.”

Without you now I see
How fragile the world can be
And I know you've gone away
But in my heart, you'll always stay

“There is no doubt that we will always have a Santana-shaped hole in our hearts and lives. And, honestly, she probably wouldn't have it any other way, possessive as she could be. But we will not allow her sacrifice to be in vain. We will make sure her children will grow up knowing their Mami, who was taken from us way too soon. They will know her, good, bad, and everything in between. Unapologetically herself. We will make sure that, while they will not remember much if anything at all, Matteo and Audrey will know her and honour her by being their own unapologetic selves.”

I cried for you
When the sky cried for you
And when you went
I became a hopeless drifter
But this life was not for you
Though I learned from you
That beauty need only be a whisper

“It is going to take time. It has only been a few weeks since our world got turned upside down. We are going to cry and scream and shout and want to break things and not get out of bed some days. And we will let ourselves take that time to grieve the loss of such a vital part of ourselves. We will feel it all, and then, in time, we will learn to deal. We will keep living. We will grieve and grow and miss you forever, but we will live.”

That beauty need only be a whisper