Brain cancer campaigner Sarah Mamalai achieved a lot in her 50 years but there was no question about what job made her the most proud.
"The answer was quick and simple: 'Mum'," MC and celebrant Kristen Davidson told a service to celebrate the life of Sarah.
Sarah, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2007, died at Clare Holland House in Canberra, on August 25.
People from across the Canberra community came to honour her life and her positive attitude - "Happiness is a choice" - at a celebration of her life at Albert Hall in Yarralumla on Friday.
Her beloved husband Oscar Mamalai had died of a brain aneurysm on his 46th birthday in 2020 and photos from the event reflected their beautiful relationship.
Their sons, Joe, 21, and Will, 18, stood in front of the audience on Friday to honour their mum - but also their dad.
"All I can say is, I'll make you both proud," Will said, on behalf of himself and his brother.
Will said their mum was "the kindest and most gentle soul" but also the "bravest and strongest person I have ever come across".
"You touched the lives of so many people through your amazing journey," he said.
The boys' loving tribute was greeted with warm applause from everyone in the audience.
Sarah's mum remembered her daughter's "mad laughter and loving heart".
Her sister Jessica said Sarah was "sassy, sensitive, brilliant".
A force of nature, Sarah was determined to help find a cure for brain cancer, working towards that goal for as long as her body would let her.
Sarah had been given just three months to live back in 2007, but lived another 17 years, making every one of them matter. One year after her diagnosis, in 2008, she and Oscar and friends and family even walked the Kokoda Track, raising $55,000 for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. Sarah also started the annual Brainstorm for a Cure gala in Canberra.
Friends from her alumnus, the University of Canberra, spoke at the celebration, saying from the first day they met her, Sarah could make them laugh.
"Sarah's sense of humour was just one of the many qualities which drew me to her in those early days," Leah Lloyd-Smith said.
"Like everyone, she had her ups and downs, but like everyone, her reoccurring ability to focus on the positives of life and people's qualities, fascinated me. I remembered teasing her about wearing rose-coloured glasses - because terms like 'positive thinking' - weren't commonly used in the '90s.
"Little did I know, years later, through those very glasses, she saw her vision for happiness in the face of crappiness."
Sarah chose to be positive in the face of a cancer diagnosis and live life to the full. But her journey had also been arduous, her friend Amanda Fintan said.
Friday's celebration also allowed for donations to the newly formed Australian Brain Cancer Foundation
The Canberra-based foundation, inspired by Sarah's legacy, will offer support to brain cancer patients and their families across the ACT and surrounding regions. Amanda said Sarah had helped to draw attention to the need for more funding and research for brain cancer, even as she watched other friends pass away, including her "soul sister", Dainere Anthoney.
"Sarah was committed to do something and put brain cancer on the map," Amanda said.
