The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
‘She lived life to the max’
Family’s heartache over tragic death of TV high-flyer
THE family of a talented TV studio boss who was tragically killed in a road accident overseas have paid tribute to the ‘vivacious and bubbly’ woman.
High-flyer Kerry Anne Rome (33) died when she was hit by a motorcyclist in Doha, in Qatar, in the Middle East, where she worked as a studio director for the TV channel Al Jazeera English.
The accident happened in the early hours of April 20 as she walked across a road.
She had only married Mark Harris (35) last August and they began their married life in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before she moved to Qatar.
She was born and brought up in Thurlby, near Bourne, where her mum and step-dad Mike and Margaret Dench still live. Dad Roy Rome lives in Peterborough.
Margaret said: “She was such a vivacious person and so full of life.
“Considering how young she was she has done so much in her life.
“When we went out there and saw what life was like we realised how strong a person she was.
“We are all so incredibly proud of her and what she did.”
And husband Mark, from Market Deeping, said: “She lived life to the max. Words can’t do her justice.
“She used to take me on a rollercoaster ride, always saying, ‘come on Mark, next step’.”
Kerry lived with her parents and two sisters Emma and Kirsty in Thurlby, attending the village school before going to Bourne Grammar School.
She then studied at Stamford College and then for a degree in film with media studies and video production at Buckinghamshire University.
Her career in television started at the Ideal World shopping channel in Peterborough, quickly progressing to Snatch It and Gems TV, near Birmingham, and Granada TV then Setanta Sport.
She then moved into TV news and was the first female technical director of live news at Al Jazeera English in Malaysia where she worked for more than three years.
She was popular with colleagues and more than capable at her job and was known for breaking down barriers between departments.
Her ability landed her a job at Al Jazeera English’s head office in Doha in October.
She married her husband Mark in Graceland Chapel, Las Vegas as the couple were serenaded by “Elvis” .
They spent their spare time travelling and she made many friends, proving popular with children.
Mark said: “Wherever she went she made friends with the locals and children loved her and would come up to her all the time.”
Sister Kirsty said: “We were all really close, she loved her family. She did more in her 33 years than most do in a lifetime.”
Her colleagues held a memorial event for her in Doha which raised hundreds for an orang-utan sanctuary in Borneo that she had visited.
A memorial service is being held at St Firmin’s Church, Thurlby, on Monday at 1.30pm.
And donations can be made in Kerry’s memory for When You Wish Upon a Star, a charity for terminally ill children. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/kerryRome