The great-grandmother of Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett has moved family and well-wishers to tears with her emotional reading of an original poem at the teen’s memorial service.
Held in Toowoomba, the service was originally planned as a small gathering to honour the life of the young girl and support her great-grandmother Vieda.
But hoards of well-wishers packed the Our Lady of Lourdes church – dressed in Dolly’s favourite colour blue – to support Vieda and celebrate Dolly’s short life.
Veida, the great-grandmother of Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett has penned a moving poem for the teen
Dolly Everett, took her own life after becoming overwhelmed by the vile taunts of online bullies
Friends and family members read Vieda’s sweet poem out loud at a memorial service for Dolly
Veida penned an original poem honouring her 14-year-old great-granddaughter, which was read out by friends and family
‘You’ll never be forgotten, that simply I will be. As long as I am living, I’ll carry you with me,’ the poem reads.
7NEWS reported that both friends and strangers in the rural are came together to ‘reflect on Dolly and her battle that has touched the nation’s heart’.
‘Promise to live better each day for having known this beautiful child,’ family friend Jackie Price read during the memorial.
Father John Quinlan also weighed in on the overwhelming support shown to the Everett family, saying: ‘No one would believe that one say out occasion like this would touch the hearts of so many people.’
Family friend Hayley Maudsley also shared a verse, reading aloud, ‘I’m a cowgirl in heaven, with my horse by my side. If anything happens, we’re ready to ride.’
‘Promise to live better each day for having known this beautiful child,’ Veida wrote in the poem
Dolly will be remembered as a ‘caring, beautiful soul’ who loved her animals, especially hoses
Dolly was known as an ‘animal whisperer’ from a young age – here she is with a newborn foal
Aged just 14, Dolly died on January 3 after prolonged and cruel online bullying, harassment and torment drove her take her own life.
At her funeral service on Friday, her family remembered their girl as a ‘beautiful little china doll’, calling her ‘kindest, (most) caring, beautiful soul’.
After the memorial, Mr Everett said the clan would remember Dolly as ‘kind, gentle and loving’, adding that she ‘loved her animals and cared so deeply for other people less fortunate than her.’
Dolly’s family and friends including great-grandmother Veida held a memorial in Towoomba
Dolly’s story captured Australia’s heart after her father invited her tormentors to the funeral
Before her tragic death, Dolly wrote ‘Speak even if our voice shakes’ which has become rallying cry against bullying. Dolly’s father Tick is dedicated to stopping cruel cyberbullying
In the wake of her death, there have been calls for renewed effort to stop bullying, including from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
‘Dolly, you are loved and you will never be forgotten,’ he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, the family have established a trust called ‘Dolly’s Dream’ dedicated to raising awareness around bullying, anxiety, depression and youth suicide.
They said they did not want anyone else to experience such ‘sadness and tragedy’ and have encouraged the use of the hashtag #stopbullyingnow.
Many of the mourners in attendance were already rallying around the trust – slapping bumper stickers on the car which read ‘#doitfordolly’.
‘Together we can keep Dolly’s dream for a better world alive,’ the Dolly’s Dream page reads