A Scots woman who died suddenly over Christmas has been described as an “amazing” woman.
Kellie Alexander died on December 27 – one day after she turned 47 – after she took ill on Christmas Eve.
Now, her close friend is hoping to raise money to help her heartbroken family to pay for funeral costs.
Donna Godfrey – who set the fundraiser up – described her as a “breath of fresh air” and an “aunty to everybody’s kids”.
Kellie, who was originally from Stranraer, Ayrshire, has lived in Belfast with her wife Angela for the past 20 years.
“She has grown up children who live in Scotland, and younger children who live here in Belfast,” Donna told Belfast Live.
“It was so unexpected. She was blue-lighted to hospital on Christmas Eve. We thought she would be okay and then, the next thing, she was gone. She had throat cancer a few years back but she was in remission. She did have other illnesses but we don’t know what has happened.
“She fell ill with like the flu, this flu that’s going around. I understand that for someone with her illnesses it can be more serious. It was so hard, even for Angela to have to get her an ambulance on Christmas Eve.
“They were together for 20 years.”
Paying tribute to her late friend, she said: “She was amazing. She was just a breath of fresh air. She was an aunty to everybody’s kids. You were family to her.
“She was just amazing. She would have done anything for anybody. She would have given you the shirt off her back. Kids were her life, everybody’s kids.”
She added: “Their youngest is just over a year old. It’s heartbreaking that he won’t hear his mummy talk. It’s just so unexpected. Obviously, she [Angela] can’t work and it’s so hard for her. It’s just after Christmas and it’s all just hit her.
“Funeral costs aren’t easy and it’s just one of those things, I offered to do a gofundme and Angela said okay. Kellie used to work as a carer in a care home but she has been looking after her family. It’s really hard. It’s heartbreaking, especially at this time of year, it’s just awful.”
A GoFundMe page for donations to help the family pay for funeral costs can be found here.
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