Tears For A Sweet, Young Life
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday September 12, 2008
A WEEK after Julie Gibson fought to save her family from a fire that had engulfed her house, the scars on her body are still evident.
Ms Gibson, 51, had helped her two children and three grandchildren out of the fire at her Nelson Bay home early on Wednesday, September 3, when she made one last trip back in to save her terminally ill partner, Neil Tarrant.She did not know her granddaughter Taya, 21/2, had followed her in amid the confusion - a mistake that cost the little girl her life.Ms Gibson clutched three of her grandchildren yesterday, her arms heavily bandaged from injuries sustained in the fire, as more than 300 mourners gathered at the All Saints Anglican Church in Singleton for Taya's funeral.Her parents, Lana and Jason Gibson, helped carry the tiny coffin with Taya's uncle, Blair Gibson, 17, flanked by the family. There was a cheer as two dozen helium balloons were released. Blair recited a poem at the service praising a little girl with courage and a wonderful smile. "You didn't stay for long," he said, "for God has called you home. But you've left behind such memories."A letter was also read out from her sister Chelsea, addressed to Taya. Chelsea is in the Children's Hospital at Westmead where she is being treated for a liver condition. Her parents were at the hospital with her on the night of the fire. "Dear Taya, up there in heaven," the letter said. "You were such a cute girl and you still are."I want to come up to heaven and hug you 100 times and kiss you 100 times, over and over again."The Reverend Audrey Fuller said the loss was having a continuing effect on the two communities of Singleton and Nelson Bay, which would be felt long after the service had ended.The Port Stephens Council has started a Gibson family relief fund.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald