Kirstie Anne Towle
"Bob Chop"

Born 31st December 1990, passed away 16th May 2016

July 2014

February 2012

July 2014

June 2014

December 2011

July 2009

March 2009

What is it that you see behind those unseeing eyes?
Memories of images past
Bound by limitations and ties
And those memories that last

What is it that you're thinking but cannot say?
Thoughts of us, thoughts of you
In bed, looking to the ceiling there you lay
Were you thinking of other things too?

What is it that you hear and understand?
Words that pass across your ears
Their meaning sometimes lost, in another land
Did we carelessly say something that lead to those tears?

What is it that music that runs through your head?
A melody only you can hear
Head moving side to side while on your bed
That magic smile that we hold so dear

What is it that brought you to this world?
Of gods we know not
Brown hair and locks often curled
Innocent to your last day from the cot

What is it that took you from this world?
That is something we may never know
As you set sail into the sunset, sails unfurled
We have to accept it is time for you to go

May 2007

April 2007

February 2007

November 2013

December 2009

February 2008

August 2004

March 2003

Kirsties funeral was held on 8th June 2016

Her funeral speech, written and delivered by her loving brother Benjamin:

To do full justice in such a short space of time to everything Kirstie meant to everyone she met would not be possible. Yet, it is the task laid before us today, and one which we must strive towards with the same determination and stubbornness and open-mindedness that Kirstie herself expressed in every moment of her life. There are indeed, some things we might say to begin to contribute towards such a goal. Kirstie was the happiest individual anyone could wish to know. She delighted in finding new ways of entertaining herself and those around her, whether throwing her balls into the shower area, knowing full-well no one would be able to use it afterwards or imitating the sound of dad snoring to the amusement of those listening, or in playing one of her innumerable keyboards (about which keyboards, I might say, the race of a lifetime was begun between Kirstie and Britain's biggest keyboard manufacturers, as my parents challenged them each Christmas to release a sufficiently distinct keyboard which played a distinct enough array of tunes to truly be considered a new keyboard, when compared to Kirstie's already present grand armada of keyboards); As evidenced by these examples and many more I could list, however she occupied herself, Kirstie was always an entertainer, who would readily perform if she knew she had an attentive audience.

In countenance to this, she was also a great listener; I cannot count the amount of times you would be talking to someone with Kirstie in the room, and would look across and see her listening eagerly and attentively, a slight grin on her face, perhaps thinking that she was catching some gossip or with a curious look, trying to piece together the secrets she was hearing; and beyond this, she listened simply because - as became immediately apparent to anyone that met her - she was a people person. She loved being around people. Whenever guests were over, she loved being brought into the room with the most people in, and being a part of the conversation. She had an infectious smile, one which, whatever the circumstances, whatever kind of day you were having, could entirely dispel all negative thoughts from your mind.

As few could fail to notice, Kirstie loved music. And although it seems to be an almost comical answer to the question: 'do you like music?', for Kirstie, had anyone asked her that, the answer would unequivocally have been yes, regardless of genre, as is somewhat represented by the pieces you have heard and will hear today, from classical to pop music, from the relaxing sound of pan pipes, to heavy rock, from dad's favourite blue's musicians, to the calming orchestras of radio classique. For me, as her brother, it became something of a morning routine in fact, always hearing the various musical pieces coming from her room while I would have breakfast and get ready for school. And then, in the evenings when I came home, an hour or so later she too would arrive home playing the familiar tunes on her keyboard, or some other toy that was in fashion for that week. This became such a familiar sound and routine, that it is something that was conspicuous by its absence, whenever she was away staying in respite, and it is something that will be gravely missed.

Like many people her age, she loved several things: lie-ins at the weekends (and sometimes in the weekdays), dressing up in new clothes, and dancing to her favourite music. And her dancing hands, for those that saw them, were a force to be reckoned with whether on the dance floor or simply at the kitchen table. Yet, for someone who would quite possibly have found herself much at home in the clubbing scene, Kirstie too was a girl of high tastes; who, after all, could forget her insistence that champagne was the only appropriate alcohol to be drinking on special occasions?

More than most people perhaps, Kirstie was someone who knew exactly what she wanted out of life, she knew how to take life in both hands, and to squeeze every ounce of happiness out of it, not just for herself, but for everyone around her, and not just for her close friends and relatives, but for everyone who met her; and she pursued this philosophy for all of her life – she truly lived life in the moment, not worrying about the past or future, but taking everything as it happened.

And with that, those are just a few of the things Kirstie will be remembered by, and for which she has infinitely enriched the lives of everyone around her, and through her memory will continue to do so in perpetuity.

Video: September 2015