At her funeral, friends, family and colleagues made a collage of their own pictures and they can all be seen in full in the slideshow below. A selection have been put together to create the video located at the bottom of the page, which is accompanied by music from the service.
(Mobile users may not be able to see the video or slideshow. Please use this this link for the slideshow gallery and this link for the video)
Emily was a very happy little girl bought up by myself and David with her big sister Alison as a playmate, companion, friend and role model.
Emily loved school and reading books and liked to help other children from a very young age; her caring qualities developing very early, she always put other people first and showed compassion and support to others throughout her life. One of her Teachers said “Emily was a child that not only made it all worthwhile but made each day a joy, she touched countless lives in some way unique to her, and they too will have gained deeply from knowing her”.
I certainly remember that she was like an “Agony Aunt” to her school friends, always finding the right advice to dish out when their love lives were in tatters, or whatever crisis there was at the time.
She lived her short life to the full and achieved so much in her 29 years. She played the Bassoon in middle school to reach Grade 5 and was a member of the Staines Youth Orchestra performing at many events. She also swam for Staines Swimming Club. She was a Rainbow, Brownie and Guide and excelled in her quest to get as many badges as her big sister! She loved Drama, singing and dancing and played key roles in the school productions and musicals, and perhaps the best remembered one was as Nancy in Oliver in her last year at Matthew Arnold School. She was also a member of The Staines Players and took part in many productions for them. She left senior school with excellent GCSE results despite at the same time organising the School Prom and fulfilling her Head Girl duties whilst also being Nancy.
At 6th form college she achieved good “A” level results, and with her passion for reading books she went off to University to gain a Degree in English Literature, whilst suffering and being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
She was determined to follow a career in Social work and whilst having a full time job she worked through the evenings caring for the elderly and people with MS and one Christmas volunteered for CRISIS. Not only that but she managed to fit in a few half Marathons to raise money for Diabetes UK, and the Ribbon Walks to support Breast Cancer charities.
Emily was a self motivated person and following a lovely organised Safari holiday on her own in South Africa she settled down to a Masters Degree at Royal Holloway University to enhance her career. Whilst in South Africa she abseiled off the top of Table Mountain, and for someone who hated heights that took a lot of nerve, as did sleeping in a tent with wild animals roaming and having no mod cons! How brave was that?
David and I remember how proud they were the day Emily graduated in the Chapel at Royal Holloway and her smile just said it all. There were lots of proud moments in Emily’s life - she was always setting herself challenges, and as scary as the abseiling in South Africa was she then went on to master Scuba Diving, and for someone who did not care for putting her head under water she achieved that qualification too.
Her aim to become an Approved Mental Health Professional meant years of hard work and another qualification gained at University, all of which she achieved in 2011.
It is very apparent that Emily made a huge impact on everyone she knew during her short life, so we all have wonderful memories to cherish, and are in awe of her many achievements and challenges.
Susan Pearce, Staines - May 2012
