Tributes as ‘two beautiful angels’ are laid to rest in Derry

During the Requiem Mass for Shauna Stokes (17) and her three-year-old cousin Kelsey Marie Stokes, tributes were paid to the “beautiful angels” whose lives were cut tragically short by the tragedy in Durham.

Many of the mourners gathered for the service at St Joseph’s Church in Galliagh wore T-shirts emblazoned with photographs of the two young people they had come to mourn, while later a small aeroplane flew overhead carrying a message of love writ large in the sky with a banner stating that, ‘2 Beautiful Angels Left 4 Heaven’.

The congregation was told by Fr Michael McCaughey that tragic events on Wednesday, September 2, in England had left the families and the wider community devastated and heartbroken.

He told those gathered that everyone’s thoughts were with them and those who were injured as they prayed that “these two young people in the shortness of their lives rest in the gentleness of God’s presence in Heaven”.

There were tributes to the much loved young woman Shauna and her little cousin during the service. In a tribute to her daughter, Kelsey Marie’s mother, Michelle, had written: “To my beautiful daughter Kelsey, I’m so sad you have to go.

“I will miss you every single day. There’s not a second or day that I don’t think about you; you are always on my mind.

“You were my little cheeky girl and I love you in every single way. You and your sister were so, so close, you still are close, just not together but apart. Me and your daddy really, really love you. You are so strong and me and daddy are trying to be strong too. You were my princess.”

Kelsey Marie’s mother recalled how her little daughter loved Peppa Pig, and Peppa Pig toys were among the items which represented the two cousins at the service. “You are an angel now, I know you are beside me all the time. We were very close friends, we are closer now as you are always in my heart,” she wrote.

Several others who were travelling with Shauna and Kelsey Marie on route to a birthday celebration for Shauna and her twin sister, Kelly were taken to hospital following the collision in Horden, County Durham on September 2.

Sergeant Pete Tate, from Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, who is leading the investigation into the crash, said: “This is a tragic incident for all involved and we would like to offer our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.”

Following the funeral service, both girls were taken by horse-drawn carriage, one at a time, to their place of rest.