Lily Van De Putte was just 14 years old, but the impact she had on her family, her friends and her wider community belied her short life.
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This was evident in the hundreds who turned out to St Anthony's Catholic Church in Tahmoor on Friday afternoon to farewell the Picton High School student, who died in the crash that also claimed the lives of four other teenagers last Tuesday at Buxton.
Lily's family greeted the mourners, her dad John wearing a shirt emblazoned with pink flamingos in a nod to a joke the family shared about Lily decorating the garden with flamingo ornaments that her parents hated.
Other loved ones also also wore flamingo shirts while images of the bright pink birds decorated her casket, in tribute to the girl with the "wicked sense of humour".
At the church a slideshow displayed photos of Lily throughout her life: a joyful infant grinning at the camera; a happy school kid, sandwiched between two friends; a talented gymnast with her teammates; a confident and beautiful young woman behind the counter at her first job.
The mourners were so numerous that they spilled out of the church and dozens instead watched the service on a screen set up outside.
Tim McGraw's My Little Girl played before the celebrant addressed the bereaved.
"Everything I'm about to say about Lily, you already know," she said.
"She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.
"She was a unique girl with a big heart."
Lily loved to go 'park-hopping' with her dad, riding with him in his wheelchair, and doing art and craft with her mum.
She was a "young lady and a tomboy" who enjoyed riding dirt bikes and "thought being a bit of a redneck wasn't such a bad thing".
John spoke of the many instances that illustrated Lily's generous nature, including the time she gave up the money that would have been spent on an afternoon tea at a cafe for a young boy to buy something for his dad for Father's Day.
But she was "no saint", recalling the time his cheeky daughter and a neighbour's grandson threw tomatoes at passing cars (and were then made to clean those cars).
Lily had a special bond with her mother, John said, and he took great pleasure watching the pair create art together.
He encouraged everyone to recall a memory they had of his daughter.
Her older sister Britany remembered how Lily would tease her for not knowing how to boil water, and thanked her for trying to teach her tricks on the trampoline, "encouraging me that the cartwheel that I did was great, even though we know it really wasn't".
"I never got to tell you how proud I am of you, how selfless you are, how caring and how brave," Britany said.
Big brother Kaleb recalled one of his earliest memories of his baby sister, aged four, running around in her undies but turning shy when her mum announced that her 'boyfriend' had arrived.
He remembered how she tried to keep up with him as her older brother, and how she did his makeup to make him look like a girl.
"I will cherish everything we ever did," Kaleb said.
The unbearable weight of mother Melanie's grief was obvious to all in attendance.
"My baby girl - I loved you before I was pregnant, I loved you when I was pregnant," she said.
"When you were born, you became my whole world."
Melanie vowed to get Lily her ute, and take her to Wolf Creek when she turned 17 like they had planned: "I will be doing all the driving for both of us".
"I would give up my everything to have just five more minutes with you, to give you a huggie, to trade places with you," she said.
Those gathered also heard from Simon, her former gymnastics partner and coach, who spoke of how Lily taught him to be strong, to laugh and have fun during training, and to always believe in himself and the team.
"She never failed to impress me," Simon said.
"So to my friend, to my acro partner, to my gymnast, you will forever live on as a part of my team and my family."
The celebrant invited the mourners to take some time in quiet reflection and remember Lily, before the pallbearers carried out her casket to Angel by Shaggy.
After Lily's casket was placed in the hearse, loved ones laid sunflowers and colourful gerberas atop it.
The mourners lined the church's driveway in a guard of honour as the hearse, scattered with rose petals and followed by Lily's family, took her on her final journey.
Lily's funeral came a day after that of her fellow Picton High student Tyrese Bechard; the three other teenagers will be farewelled in the coming days.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
