RAYS OF LIGHT
The mother of tragic seven-year-old Katie Rough talks about plans to celebrate her ‘amazing’ daughter’s life
Mother Alison Rough is still very much grieving the loss of her “amazing” sevenyear-old-daughter Katie, who was killed in January. In an interview with The Yorkshire Post today, she speaks of her gratitude to all those who have offered kind words during dark days.
THE URGE to draw something positive out of a tragedy is one felt by many who experience intense personal grief.
For Alison Rough, the mother of York schoolgirl Katie, this came after she and her husband Paul were overwhelmed by the local and international response to her death in January.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Mrs Rough yesterday paid tribute to her “amazing” and “funloving” seven-year-old daughter, who enjoyed “kicking around in the mud” at nature reserves and trips to Filey.
It is an image she wants the community to remember Katie by instead of the way she died.
Her family hope that this will be the case after a free charity evening in the Westfield Primary School pupil’s memory – organised as a thank-you to those who have helped them – takes place at Acorn Rugby Club in York on Friday, June 9, from 5pm.
Mrs Rough said: “We’re still massively grieving but we just wanted to focus on something that Katie would have loved.
“We can’t do it for her any more but we can do it for other children and we just want to give back to the community.”
Katie died in hospital after being found with severe neck and chest lacerations at a playing field in York.
Mourners turned out in splashes of colour for her funeral at York Minster on February 13.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Mrs Rough, 39, said: “Outside the house she was shy. When she was with her parents or close family she was sassy, she was fun-loving.
“She liked to pretend to be a little doggy. She liked to go to the nature reserves and running in the wood.
“She was happy to be outside and kicking in the mud. She was not a traditional girly-girl at all. She was a strong-willed girl.
“She was beautiful. She was amazing.”
Mrs Rough added: “She loved to go to Filey, collecting what she called her special things, which were pebbles.
“To her they meant the world and they were a certain shaped stone or coloured leaf.
“We want everybody to know who Katie was and this is a way of getting her name out in a positive way.
“We want people to think about Katie and think about the good things and not the terrible thing that happened to her.”
Over the last few months people in the city and those from as far as New Zealand have written to express their condolences to Mrs Rough and her husband, a groundkeeper at York Lakeside Lodges.
She said: “They’ve just proven how amazing they are by the way they’ve stood by us. We’ve had hundreds of letters and cards from all over the world. We’ve received letters that have literally said ‘Katie Rough’s parents, York’. They’ve all got to us.”
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has also developed a strong bond with the family following Katie’s death.
“In the darkest of times he has sat with us for several hours, prayed with us, talked about Katie,” said Mrs Rough.
“He bought me and Paul an Easter egg each at Easter. He’s said that we are welcome to Bishopthorpe Palace at anytime we want. The Archbishop actually organised Katie’s wake. That was a massive weight off our shoulders. “We are forever grateful.”
A 15-year-old girl was arrested and charged with Katie’s murder and possession of an offensive weapon, and is due to stand trial in July.
She was a strong-willed girl. She was beautiful. She was amazing.
Alison Rough, mother of seven-year-old Katie.