Roxy’s funeral details unveiled
of her life in the Huddersfield and Clayton West area where her devastated mother, 45-year-old Jo Davis, still lives. She wasn’t a rough sleeper but a sofa surfer who lived in friends’ houses.
Her tragic death came to light after Dave Kennedy, a man who helps the homeless, wrote a moving tribute to Roxy on Facebook. His post attracted around 1,000 views and it was the Examiner’s best-read story for two days.
Dave said it was Roxy who inspired him “to take my little idea of collecting donations for the homeless and less fortunate people of our town to a wider scale”.
One of Roxy’s aunts, 37-year-old Pat Clay Davis from Barnsley, said the funeral would be held at Huddersfield Crematorium in Fixby at 11.15am on Friday, March 24.
Although Roxy was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, the main cause of her death was endocarditis, a rare and potentially fatal infection of the inner lining of the heart.
Pat said: “I have been very moved by the tributes that have been posted in memory of Roxy. However, the family want to be left alone now, it has been a little bit overwhelming.
“It will not be a religious service as she was never christened. Jo gave her that option.
“We have a really big family. One of Roxy’s grandmothers has 27 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren so there will be a lot of us at the service.
“I have done a lot of work for the homeless in Barnsley so I know about these issues first-hand. We want people to know that Roxy was very much loved and our emotions are very raw at the moment.”
She was anxious to stress that her family had not abandoned Roxy and Jo had invited her for Christmas dinner. Her death stunned Sgt Mandy Mellor, who has worked hard to help Huddersfield’s homeless in recent years.
She said: “I am also shocked and gutted.”
In his original post Mr Kennedy said: “No-one is, or was, to blame for what happened to this lovely young lady.
“She lost her way because of an illness that a lot of people – including several local support groups including the one I founded – and her lovely family, were helping her with.”