‘Friends to the end’
FAMILIES PAY TRIBUTE TO TEENAGERS KILLED ON TRAGIC TRIP TO SEASIDE
THE parents of two Derbyshire teenagers who died in a car crash while travelling to the Lincolnshire seaside have paid tribute to their daughters.
Jennifer Woodhouse, 18, from Alfreton, and Lara Meldrum, 19, who was born in Chesterfield, were killed in a collision at Hagworthingham, 15 miles from Skegness, at around 7pm on Friday, June 17.
The two friends had been set to enrol at Sheffield Hallam University later this year.
Paying tribute to their daughters, the family of Miss Meldrum said the pair were “friends to the end”.
Speaking about their daughter, the parents of Miss Woodhouse said: “Jennifer was a force of nature. A beautifully kind-hearted, hardworking, caring and empathetic young woman with the whole world ahead of her.
“She was our beautiful little star. We are all privileged to have had her in our lives.
“She was absolutely hilariously funny with an intelligent sense of humour that never failed. She would be rolling around on the floor with her friends laughing at the silliest thing.
“She had a deeply rooted sense of morals and principles and lived by what she believed. She just loved people and above all she believed in and championed all of her family, sticking by them through everything, helping us all when we were wounded, caring when we were sick, advising us through our turmoil and always making us laugh and smile.
“She loved her brother more than life itself and he was fiercely protective of her. They had the most beautiful bond and although they could annoy each other, if anything happened it would be them against the world – she was so thoughtful and spent time with her extended family whenever she could.
“She was a whirlwind of energy and would go from baking cakes to dancing, to painting, to playing with her dog, Kevin.
“She lived life to the fullest and looked to the future, always planning and saving for her travels or for her car, or for whatever she wanted.
“She was insistently independent, refusing help to buy a car because she could make it on her own.
“She could have been anything she wanted to be, she was so clever, so hard-working and so skilled. Jen loved working and earning her own money, she always did more hours than we asked her to do, and her work colleagues became lifelong friends.
“In recent years she did amazingly in her GCSEs and went to college to study her A-levels. She met some of her best friends and loved going on adventures, especially with Lara, and their holiday to Blackpool was hilarious.
“Jen was a student you loved to teach, she was a bright light, always laughing and keeping the teachers on their toes.
“She was a whizz at maths – she was incredible studying, working and partying and had a place at uni in September to study maths, and still always made time for family and friends.
“The world is a better place for having had her in it and she will be missed terribly. She was an incredible human who blessed all that got to know her kindness, her intelligent empathy, her charm, her humour, and her complete radiance which made us all be better people – if you know Jennifer, you love her.”
Meanwhile, the parents of Miss Meldrum, who was born in Chersterfield and lived in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, also paid tribute to their daughter.
They said: “Having finished their A-level exams, Lara and Jennifer had a summer of fun ahead before they headed off together to study at Sheffield Hallam University in September. A day trip to the seaside ended so tragically.
“Lara was a fun-loving girl whose kind and caring nature touched so many of her friends all over the country.
“Her friendships remained close, and in some cases stronger despite the distances. We have never known anyone with so many “best friends”, something that so many proudly called her.
“She followed in the footsteps of her elder brother Ross and became a valued member of the Nottingham ice hockey club. She was proud to have won a national league and play briefly at elite level with the ladies’ team The Vipers.
“Bus trips to away games from Scotland, Whitley Bay, Guildford, Streatham and loads more in between were some of the funniest times ever. Lara would be the ringleader of karaoke, dancing and all manner of hilarious antics – she loved those bus trips with the girls.
“Latterly, Lara worked part-time in McDonald’s in Arnold. She worked hard so that she could save money to pay for holidays with her friends, nights out, and for her newfound love of clothes.
“Always at the centre of the fun and with a great sense of adventure, we always said she lived life in ‘Lara Time in Lara World.’ That might be taking her beloved cockapoo Jet for an adventure through the woods, or going for a late-night walk with her friends.
“We will miss her jumping on our bed every night to chat before we slept. We will miss her taking days to bring her washing and dishes down.
“We will miss her stealing our phones and taking random pictures without us knowing.
“We will miss her charming ability to get a lift to college despite having just been given money for the bus.
“We will miss her fake tan that made her look like a tiger loaf on day three. We will miss her so much.”
Lincolnshire Police are appealing for information about the crash, which involved a black Peugeot and black Volvo. Anyone with information is asked to contact them by calling 101, quoting incident 402 of June 17.