Eulogy
Aimee Fry
Ladies and Gentlemen. Today we are here not to mourne but to celebrate the life of our dear friend Elaine Taylor. My name is Aimee Fry; I am honoured to have been best friend to Elaine for the past twenty years.
Elaine was nice, outgoing although a little shy and awkward girl, we befriended each other almost immediately.
We first met at the local park in the sandpit. I think we were both about three years old and I was in the sandpit building a sandcastle with my family when she toddled over with her dad. We hit it off instantly as did my parents and her dad, David.
As we grew up together we shared tears and laughter through the good and the bad times.
Her obvious talent for gymnastics took her from her hometown, Moranbah, to the exciting life of travelling with the circus which brought her and her dad to Adelaide, where we met up again in high school.
Being the tomboy she was, she met Ben and Andrew and the three became the best of friends. They spent many hours together trying to best a computer game "Space Demons" where she met and captured the heart of Mario the school bad boy. What an unlikely couple. Was it her sparkling eyes, quiet nature or her stubborn streak he was attracted by? He says it was all these and more. He was to become her husband. And to this day we all remain friends.
After graduation, she contributed to the happiness of disabled people through teaching them gymnastics, up until she had her daughter, Haylie. Even though she rang me at four thirty-eight am on the twenty-third of March three years ago, I was thrilled for her, for I had never seen two new parents so overjoyed.
As Godmother of Haylie I will be sure to make her life a bundle of happy memories.
But it was another phone call almost a year ago that would change my life forever.
This rare disease that doctors said threatened to take Elaine's life, but she bravely stayed with us for her daughters third birthday.
But there comes a time when it's for the best for you to finally go onto a better place.
I'm sure everybody here would have many kind things or stories to say about Elaine and her kindness.
As we take a moment now to reflect on our own memories of Elaine, I would like to play for you the thoughtful words of Kate Alexa'in Always There'.
