Cape Town: Reverend Nontombi Tutu says she’s unsure if her mother has fully accepted her husband’s passing.
The Arch's daughter addressed the media outside their family home in Milnerton on Tuesday.
She expressed gratitude for the overwhelming number of messages sent to the family nationally and around the world.
"Mama is doing okay right now. We are not sure if it has completely sunk in, but she has been surrounded by family and friends. She has been visited by so many people giving condolences and love.
"It has been a truly wonderful outpouring of love and support.
"It makes us know that the life that daddy lived touched so many people," Tutu said.
While she tried to resist following in her father’s footsteps in pursuing priesthood, Tutu said she became a priest in her fifties.
"The calling has been on my heart for many years and I finally stopped fighting it and recognised that he was an example for me," she said.
Tutu further embraced the kind of father the Arch was – describing him as very loving and affectionate.
"I'll remember him as a loving father, as a father who was so happy to be hugged, kissed, and laughed with his children and his grandchildren."
Archbishop link -
The 90-year-old peacemaker, she said, was always ready to share a joke, a word of encouragement or a word of challenge.
He died on Sunday in Cape Town. His funeral will take place at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Saturday .
Tarryn-Leigh.Solomons@inl.co.za
Political Bureau