Shock death heartbreak
Family mourns Whittington man who was life of the party
A Whittington family is heartbroken after the sudden death of their son and brother.
Ashley Semianiw, 30, died in his sleep on September 6 but the exact cause of his death remains unclear.
Family friend Maddlyn Sheldon first met Mr Semianiw about eight years ago and said he was an “extremely kind and generous person”.
“I first met him at my engagement party, he opened his wallet and gave us everything inside,” she said.
“That is the kind of person he was. He would go to great lengths to help his friends and family.”
In 2020, Mr Semianiw was riding his motorcycle when he was involved in a serious hitrun collision in Geelong.
“He had a long road of recovery and he was still undergoing surgeries,” Mrs Sheldon said.
“He moved back in with his parents following the accident.
“He was in a wheelchair at the start but he was using crutches and walking aids.
“He was going really well and he was meant to go in for ACL surgery on September 11 but his mum found him last Wednesday morning.”
Mr Semianiw worked as an electrician but never went back to full-time work after the accident.
“It took a huge mental toll on him but he was extremely positive and he had a huge amount of support from his mum and dad,” Mrs Sheldon said.
Mr Semianiw had a passion for cars and motorbikes.
“He was doing up a couple of motorbikes after the accident, which kept him ticking along and gave him something to focus on,” Mrs Sheldon said.
She said Mr Semianiw’s friends would all describe him as “the life of the party”.
“A lot of our friendship group had started to settle down and have kids … he treated all our kids like gold,” she said.
Mrs Sheldon said friends and family had “lots of happy memories” of Mr Semianiw. “With our first son, we started an IVF journey and my husband worked as a project manager in Melbourne so he couldn’t leave work often,” she said.
“Ash came with me to all my appointments … he was there when I took a positive pregnancy test.”
Mr Semianiw leaves behind his mother Jen, father Michael, twin siblings Jo and Nathan and nephew Teddy.
His life will be celebrated at a funeral later this month.