Funeral for Jay Slater held as family pay tribute to ‘forever 19’ teen
The parents of Jay Slater, who died while on holiday in Tenerife, have paid tribute to their ‘loving son’ at his funeral. today.
Some 200 friends, family and well-wishers came out dressed in blue rather than the traditional black for the ‘celebration’ of the 19-year-old’s life.
Amid the pouring rain, mourners were handed fliers with a photo of Jay reading: ‘Remembering with love Jay Dean Slater. Always in our hearts. #forever19.’
‘If there was anyone dancing on the way to the other side it was him,’ the back read.
His family wiped away tears as they walked the funeral procession behind their son’s coffin, all dressed in blue and holding blue flower bouquets.
Mounters were shown videos of Jay dancing and having fun while a version of Party All The Time played, Manchester Evening News reported.
Jay’s loved ones asked that instead of flowers, people donate to LBT Global, the overseas crisis support charity that helped his family through their heartache.
For Jay’s family, the teen was a ‘loving son’ and ‘cherished brother’ who loved football, even joining the Huncoat United youth football club aged just five.
‘He also loved spending time chilling out with his friends,’ their tribute read.
‘His love of music and dance started at a very young age. He loved attending music festivals and events across the country and also loved to socialise and meet new people.’
Jay’s funeral took place at Accrington Cemetery Chapel, where the poem Time Will Ease the Hurt by Bruce Wilmer was read out.
‘Though your heart won’t let the sadness simply slide away, the echoes will diminish even though the memories stay,’ the poem reads.
Floral tributes will come from the family but ‘if anyone would like to bring a single rose to place with Jay, they are more than welcome’, his relatives said in a statement issued through LBT Global.
Jay, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, vanished while on June 17 holidaying in Tenerife, a popular vacation destination in the Canary Islands.
He left the NRG music festival he had flown to the island to attend the night before with two people. Police said they were ‘irrelevant’ to the case.
The next morning, friend Lucy Law picked up the phone and heard Jay’s voice for the last time.
He told Lucy he was lost and thirsty while walking home through the mountains. His phone was moments from running out of battery.
Jay’s last known location was the Rural de Teno Park about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
But after 28 days of searching Masca, a village in the island’s mountains, Spanish police found Jay’s body in a difficult-to-reach area.
A post-mortem examination found Jay died of traumatic head injuries consistent with a fall from height – his death would have been instantaneous.
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