Mourners farewell 'precious' Jillian

UPDATE 11am: Tom Meagher has remembered his wife as a girl who loved most of all to make others laugh.

"Jill was never happier than when she was making other people laugh," Mr Meagher told fellow mourners at a private funeral for the slain 29-year-old woman in Melbourne today.

The former Perth woman could make strangers dance to awful music, she cried over Family Ties on TV, and she had 20 different jobs in 17 years, he said.

"Jill's the only person who can read an entire novel about the Second World War and still think it happened in the 60s," Mr Meagher said.

"I couldn't have asked for more loyalty, happiness, commitment, love and, most importantly, fun from my girl.

"Goodbye, my beautiful, funny girl."

Jill's mother, Edith McKeon, said her daughter was a determined person who achieved everything she set her mind to.

"She was a messy creature but she had style," Ms McKeon, of Perth, said.

"She loved to party and she loved the craic.

"She was so precious to us.

"The light she brought to us almost 30 years ago will shine on us forever."

Her father, George McKeon, said his daughter was still with her loved ones.

"Though we can't be together right now, we are together in our thoughts and memories," he said.

Mr McKeon read a letter he sent Jill in 2004 in which he told her it was hard to be apart from her.

He remembered her smile and the wonderful moments they had shared.

"You are an important part of my life," he said.

A friend said Ms Meagher was the funniest person she had ever met.

Twenty-nine doves were released at the funeral, where mourners were given white ribbons and wristbands to promote the White Ribbon Foundation, which fights violence against women.

They also received a commemorative bookmark featuring the photograph that was posted all over the inner-city suburb of Brunswick after the ABC radio employee disappeared.

The Irish national vanished in Brunswick while walking a short distance home in the early hours of Saturday, September 22.

Her body was found six days later in a shallow grave about 50km away, and a man has been charged with her rape and murder.

Homicide squad detectives who investigated Ms Meagher's disappearance joined family and friends at the private, invitation-only funeral at the Fawkner memorial park, which was closed to the public overnight.

Residents in Ms Meagher's hometown of Drogheda, Ireland, will celebrate her life at a mass on Friday.

"Slan a hails mo chara", an Irish saying that means "safe home my friend", were the final words Tom Meagher said to his wife at Friday's service.