Died in her mum’s arms
Alicia Kirkpatrick was her mother’s ‘‘rock’’. The 29-year-old singer, model and mother-of-three died in the arms of her mother, Michelle Brown, on August 28 after suffering an asthma attack.
Brown said Alicia and her three daughters – Maia, 11, Jaezahn, 9, and 16-month-old Coco – had come to her house in Te Karaka, about 30km northwest of Gisborne, with plans to have a ‘‘girl’s day’’.
‘‘It just happened so fast. We had dinner. I sat down to have a talk. She got up and said: ‘Mum, we’ve got to go.’ I knew her asthma had come on just like that. So we left. Two minutes down the road, I was doing CPR on her in the car. Her three girls were in the car.’’
She said an inhaler proved ineffective and Alicia ‘‘passed away in my arms’’.
Alicia was the oldest of six daughters and two sons. She was raised by Michelle and her former husband David Kirkpatrick in Gisborne, Napier and Te Karaka.
‘‘It’s not fair. She was just a beautiful person inside and out. Her whole life was about her children and her family. She was the one who always kept in touch with everybody. She was my rock, my heart, my world, and my best friend. I’m so lost without her,’’ Brown said.
‘‘No-one prepares themselves to bury their own child. They’re supposed to bury us. I’ll never get over it,’’ she said.
Alicia’s father, David, said his daughter ‘‘touched a lot of people in her short life’’.
‘‘She was on the road to accomplish everything, then had it all taken away,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got to be strong for her babies. Alicia loved them so much. It’s about them now and giving them as much support as we can so they can thrive,’’ he said.
He said Alicia had suffered from asthma from a young age.
Alicia’s tangi was held at Takipu Marae and she was buried at Taruheru cemetery in Gisborne.
Her death came just three months after an earlier asthma attack that had nearly taken her life. On Facebook in May, she said she was grateful for the ‘‘second chance’’.
‘‘I had an asthma attack and I stopped breathing, heart stopped beating and I was dead for 20 minutes,’’ she posted.
Family and friends from all over the country have paid tribute to Kirkpatrick after her death.
A Givealittle page has been set up to help support her three daughters.
Kirkpatrick grew up performing in multiple music competitions, and became increasingly involved in the local musical acts, shows and festivals around the country. She recorded her first album in 1999.
She began making a name for herself and later opened gigs for artists like New Zealand hip-hop/R&B group Nesian Mystik, Kiwi recording artist Anika Moa, and American rapper Coolio.
She became the lead singer of Kiwi reggae band Foundation, and played alongside some of the country’s biggest reggae acts over the years – including Herbs, Tomorrow People, Three Houses Down and Katchafire.
The band members paid tribute to its fallen singer, saying on Facebook they were ‘‘devastated by this heartbreaking news’’.
‘‘You gave everything to Foundation through your amazing talent, love and loyalty.
‘‘Your legacy will live on through our music.’’
‘‘It just happened so fast ... She got up and said ‘Mum, we’ve got to go’ ... Two minutes down the road I was doing CPR on her.’’ Mum Michelle Brown