Mum’s heartfelt ‘thank-you’ to the people of Larne on first anniversary of daughter’s death in river tragedy

The 14-year-old St Killian’s College pupil died after falling into the Inver River in the Co Antrim town on November 26 last year.

In a letter to the Larne Times, mum Danielle writes: “As most of you will know, in November 2019 my family endured an unimaginable loss when my beautiful, kind, free-spirited daughter Gracie Leigh Gordon lost her life in a tragic accident.

“This is something that no parent could ever be prepared for. Of course there were many decisions that had to be made and lots of things that had to be organised and I was so completely consumed by my grief, that I couldn’t function as I normally would.

“I’ve always been known as a strong woman that could get through all that life threw at me, but in this instance I couldn’t bear to just get on with things, my life has just stood still. I regret to say this but, as of today I have never properly thanked everyone. There are so many thoughtful people who have helped my family and I to deal with this tragedy and if you are one of them, I hope you know what it has meant to us and I thank you.

“Many people from the NHS, all the doctors and nurses, local search and rescue , paramedics, fire and rescue, police and coastguard services did all that they could to try and save Gracie Leigh and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you, to every single person who showed up, who tried to save her life, thank you for your service and for all the gestures and comforting words and the guard of honour at the funeral.

“To Father O’Brien, thank you so much for being so forgiving, through my many meltdowns and demands. You did a wonderful job getting to know the essence of my daughter, who she really was and what she stood for, and subsequently giving Gracie Leigh a heartfelt and very meaningful service.

“To Alice McConnell, my friends and colleagues at BT who organised a GoFundMe to help with my finances during this time, and every single person that donated, thank you.

“To the Factory community, YMCA and Marty McToal, who provided food and refreshments and services after the funeral, thank you.

“To all of Gracie Leigh’s besties and school friends who laid flowers and fairy lights and created a memorial for her and especially ‘her boys’; the kids who watched over the memorial, provided bins and started little donation boxes to help the family, you have all done her proud.

“To all who donated to Dogs Trust charity in Gracie Leigh’s honour in lieu of flowers thank you, and a very special thank you to the anonymous donor “

“‘A fellow dog lover’ who shared a story of Gracie’s love for dogs, a gift of a teddy and very generous donation, thank you so much. And to the many many people that brought food, keepsakes, laid wreaths and flowers, visited, sent kind messages and cards and attended the funeral, thank you.

“On behalf of all Gracie Leigh’s family, I would like to say a huge thank you to every single person who sent messages of support and love and helped us through this heartbreaking journey.

“I have received many heart warming stories of the love and kindness our wee Gracie girl spread during her short time here and would like to take this opportunity to send this message to all of her heartbroken friends; take each day as it comes, stand up for what you think is right and most importantly, be kind.”

#kindnessbreedskindness

Sincerely,

Danielle Gordon.