LAHORE, March 17: Celebrated news photographer Chacha F E Chaudhry was laid to rest here at the Jail Road Cemetery on Sunday afternoon.

Faustin Elmer Chaudhry had passed away peacefully on March 15 (Friday) that was also his 104th birthday.

His funeral service was held at Lawrence Road’s Sacred Heart Church adjacent to the St Anthony’s School where he taught before the creation of Pakistan, long before becoming pioneer news photographer of the country.

A large number of Chacha’s friends, members of the Christian community, his relatives, children and grandchildren attended the service.

They paid rich tributes to Chacha for his righteousness, courage, integrity, friendly disposition, patriotism and professionalism.

Prominent among them were I A Rehman, Hussain Naqi, Ziaul Haq, Raja Aurangzeb, Chaudhry Khadim Hussain, Khalid Butt, Dr Ajaz Anwar, Altaf Husain Qureshi, Majid Sheikh and Azim Qureshi.

F. E. Chaudhry was born on March 15, 1909 in Hoshiarpur (Indian Punjab). His son, the late Cecil Chaudhry, was the hero of 1965 and 1971 wars with India.

His other children include Wing Commander (retired) Anthony Chaudhry, Cyril Chaudhry, Dr Stella Khan and Ms Sheila Rais.

The legendary Chacha F E Chaudhry won over 20 awards for his meritorious services for the country. Among the awards were Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Khidmat, President’s Pride of Performance and Tehrik-i-Pakistan Gold Medal.