Holly was just 27 when she died. A small daytime burial was followed by a memorial event in an arts centre for over 350 people.
Holly had kept a blog throughout her illness and we were able to draw on the content to touch on her experiences of her treatment, celebrate her beautiful photography, and share her musings about the universe.
Holly had some specific requests for her send off, and the whole family worked incredibly hard to get it right for her. We shared tears and laughter and listened to personal tributes from family and friends including a mobilising speech from her mum on the importance of breaking the taboo around colon cancer. There were projections of Holly as a little girl, lots of tall sunflowers, and a really long playlist of her favourite tracks so there was plenty of music to remind us of her.
Her very being permeated everyone in attendance.
Years later her friend Kirsty recorded a song to demonstrate Holly’s importance and beauty that was shared through her blog – ‘Passing Cloud’.