Maurice Gibb’s ashes to be taken to brother Robin’s funeral

London: The ashes of Robin Gibb’s twin brother Maurice will be taken to the singer’s funeral on Friday – in the form of precious stones.

When Maurice died nearly 10 years ago, some of his ashes were used to make four purple gems which were given to his widow Yvonne, brothers Barry and Robin and their mother Barbara. On Friday, family members will take the stones to the church service in a symbolic gesture of the twins being reunited. Robin kept his stone in the chapel on his estate in Oxfordshire. “The stones are precious possessions for the family and in particular for Robin because he was so close to Maurice,” the Mirror quoted a family friend as saying. “He always struggled with Maurice’s death and he could never quite believe he had gone. His stone was a spiritual way of remaining connected to his brother and it is fitting that the stones belonging to the rest of the ¬family will be at the funeral. “The bond between the brothers was very strong and in a way the funeral will mark them being reunited,” the friend added. According to reports, the funeral cortege will pass through the streets of Thame to allow local residents to pay their respects on its way to the main church near the 12th Century mansion where Gibb lived with wife Dwina for more than 30 years. The service is for family and close friends only, with a public memorial planned at St Paul’s Cathedral in September. Among the mourners will be the last ¬surviving Bee Gee Barry, 65, mother Barbara, 94, Robin’s son with Dwina, Robin John, 28, and his children from his first marriage, Spencer, 40, and Melissa, 37. The main piece of music to be played will be ‘Don’t Cry Alone’, which Robin composed with Robin John for his Titanic Requiem. It was the singer’s final piece of work before he died last month, aged 62, after a two-year battle with liver and colon cancer. “Robin is obviously best known for his Bee Gees songs but Don’t Cry Alone is the most poignant. There won’t be a dry eye in the church when it is played,” the friend added. ANI