Daughter weeps as she pays tribute to parents killed in Tunisian attack
THE grieving daughter of a Scottish couple killed in the Tunisian beach terror attack has told mourners at their funeral they were the “best parents in the world”.
Friends and family of Billy and Lisa Graham, from Bankfoot near Perth, heard that they were “senselessly and unjustifiably murdered”.
The couple were on a trip to the tourist resort of Sousse to celebrate Mrs Graham’s 50th birthday when they were killed on June 26.
A total of 38 people, including 30 from Britain, died when a gunman opened fire in the massacre.
Hundreds of mourners gathered to say a final farewell to the “admired and respected” couple at a service at Perth Crematorium.
Their daughter Holly sobbed as she told mourners: “My parents truly were the best parents in the world.
“I am going to miss them so much. I am so very proud to be their daughter and I will continue to do my best to make them proud to be my parents.
“Sleep tight, Mum and Dad. I love you.”
Recalling her parents, she added: “Dad was such a happy man. He loved to laugh, he was always cracking jokes.
“He was certainly not a quiet man. He would always stop and chat to people in the street.
“Dad was a very strong and brave man. He would do anything for anyone.”
She said her mother was “the life and soul of every party”.
She added: “She worshipped the sun, whether on holiday or in the back garden. Mum’s laugh was infectious.
“She often burst into giggles for reasons unknown.”
The Rev Sydney Graham told mourners the couple “had a lovely relationship and life together”, and they had “created and enjoyed a beautiful home in Bankfoot and worked hard in our community”.
He said: “Where Billy went, Lisa went too, and they always found their place as an admired and respected family.”
The Rev Graham said Mr Graham had spent “22 years loyally serving us and their Queen and country in 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards”, during which time he was deployed to both Germany and Northern Ireland.
He continued: “We are absolutely devastated and it is outrageous what happened to them as they enjoyed a well-earned rest in the sun at a favourite place.
“But love is eternal and stronger than death and no irrational act of man’s inhumanity to man can ever defeat the power of love.”
The Rev Graham said after the service at Perth Crematorium: “It is senseless, it is unjustifiable, and all we can do is treasure the values that we have and resist returning evil for evil.”
A funeral service was also held for another victim, mother-of-four Trudy Jones, 51 of Blackwood, Gwent, who was killed while on holiday with her friends.
Prime Minister David Cameron told Tunisian counterpart Habib Esside that he hopes to lift advice against people visiting the country “as quickly as possible”.