Following the tragic death of Jay Slater in Tenerife, his mother has had his favourite clothes transformed into cushions.
The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, was found dead after he went missing on the Spanish island in June last year. His body was discovered near the village of Masca, and it was determined that he died from multiple injuries consistent with a fall in a rocky area.
Jay’s heartbroken mum, Debbie Duncan, travelled to Tenerife along with other family members to assist in what became a high-profile search operation. His funeral took place in Accrington in August, with around 500 people attending the service.
In a poignant tribute, it was revealed that cushions have been crafted from his favourite clothes, the Mirror reports. A Facebook post from ‘Homemade With Love Oswaldtwistle’ stated: “Forever 19. All of my work touches my heart, but I must admit this one really touched me.
“I was honoured to be asked by Jay’s Mum to make these cushions, using his favourite clothes. I hope they bring comfort to each person receiving them.
“Each one had a personalised memory patch added. Thank you so much Debbie for entrusting me to make these for you. Sending so much love.”
Jay Slater’s mum has son’s clothes turned into cushions in touching memento
A GoFundMe page titled Get Jay Slater Home received £72,821 before it was closed on November 21 last year. The final message posted on the page explained how the donations were spent.
They included a search team from the Dutch non-profit organisation Signi Zoekhonden and his family’s stay in Tenerife while efforts to locate Jay continued. Jay’s family also said in the post that they were able to give him a ‘truly deserved… send-off’ at his funeral in August.
The message, signed off by Mr Slater’s family and friends, read: “With your support we were able to stay in Tenerife until we got our beautiful boy back to the UK. We were able to fund the Signi search team from the Netherlands who supported us throughout the days when Jay was found. Jay truly deserved the send-off we were able to give him and we thank you all for that.
“We have been overwhelmed with messages of support from all over the globe and will be eternally grateful to all of you. Our journey of trauma and grief will continue forever and we will never recover.”
Jay Slater and his mum Debbie Duncan
The message continued: “We lost our beautiful boy in extremely tragic circumstances whilst the world watched. We do not and will never understand how Jay’s story reached every corner of the globe. Our journey is far from over but the burdens eased with your support.
“We would also like to thank the person who looked after Jay’s fundraiser page whom we have been in constant contact with, especially whilst in Tenerife – the support and advice you gave will not be forgotten. Donations will be turned off with this final message. Jay’s family and friends are trying to come to terms and process this tragic loss and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
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