It was a somber atmosphere at the City of David Church in Victoria Island, Lagos as grieving family and friends said farewell to Mrs Oluwatosin Ibironke Anibaba, the first among victims of the Dana plane crash to be buried since the disastrous 3 June accident.

She was one of the 153 passengers aboard the ill-fated Dana Flight 992 that plummeted into the densely populated Iju Ishaga area of Lagos that fateful Sunday.

Relatives, friends and colleagues said the deceased, Tosin, was a woman of integrity and passion for helping the less fortunate.

She worked at the FATE Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the reduction of unemployment and poverty, where she was the head of the Business and Alumni Support Services unit.

Tosin’s was the only smiling face in the church. Photographs displayed on monitors depicted a woman who embraced life to the fullest, even as loved ones mourned her death.

“She raced through life with a smile on her face,” Pastor Idowu Iluyomade said during his sermon.

Widower Femi Anibaba, in a tribute to his late wife said: “We have been married for close to five years, the best years of my life. We hardly ever fought and when we did, she soon made up. We travelled the world and had lots of fun.

“ We shared so many jokes and experiences. She loved watching her favourite programmes and had sent me a text earlier in the day she slept in the Lord that I should ensure I recorded them.

Tosin, who died at age 34, not only leaves behind a grieving husband but a very young daughter. Femi called her an indescribable mother, recounting something Tosin had done for their daughter, mere weeks before her death.

“A couple of weeks ago, she transferred a large sum of money to Timisayo’s account. This was the first time she had done this and the last. I was surprised at the time and asked why. But that was Tosin, selfless until the end.”

After the funeral service, the body was taken in a hearse to the Vaults and Gardens cemetery, Ikoyi for interment, reports said.