Girl with 'biggest smile in the world' remembered
A brave little girl with "the biggest smile in the world" was laid to rest at a moving funeral service last week.
Alicia Wootton was just seven when she lost her two year battle with leukaemia last month. The youngster died peacefully at home on Valentine's Day, surrounded by her family, after eight blocks of chemotherapy, a course of radiotherapy and a bone marrow transplant failed to cure her.
And that close-knit family who read to Alicia from her favourite book during her final moments were joined by more than 200 mourners at Christ Church last Wednesday.
Among those who gathered to celebrate Alicia's life were many of her friends from nearby Blacklands school and some of the nurses who had helped care for her during her treatment.
There were even leather-jacketed members of the local Norsemen motorcycle club, many of whom had helped raise funds to send little Alicia on a string of special days out once the terminal nature of her illness had been established.
Almost everyone wore pink - Alicia's favourite colour. Even the bikers pinned pink ribbons to their coats. Others went decked in pink skirts, ties or scarves.
Alicia's loving mum Nicola had paid tribute to her daughter in the Observer in the days following her untimely death, describing her love of animals and princesses. And it was like a princess that Alicia arrived at the funeral - her white coffin, complete with butterfly decorations, delivered by a beautiful horse-drawn cart.
During the moving service, which was led by Rev Ian Cooper, both Alicia's granddads paid tribute to her.
Granddad Colin Murphy recalled the time they had spent together watching Disney films during this many visits to see her in hospital and how Alicia would try and get him to sneak her out for a McDonalds drive-through when the nurses were not looking.
And her other granddad, Jonathon Wootton, told of her love of animals and described her as "a brave and tenacious girl, with the biggest smile in the world."
Three of Alicia's favourite songs were played instead of traditional hymns; Hannah Montana's Climb, Part Of Your World from the Little Mermaid and A Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin.
However, the most moving part of the ceremony came when Alicia's little brother Jake laid a flower on her coffin and showed a painting and letter her had written to be later placed on her coffin.
The family and many of the mourners then moved to Hastings Crematorium for the burial.
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Weather for Hastings
Monday 28 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
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