Kind, fierce, funny, loved.
Tears, laughter and love radiated from a packed-out Devonport chapel on Thursday morning, as friends and family gathered to celebrate the "short but full" life of Zane Timothy Mellor.
Zane, 12, died last Thursday, December 16, when a jumping castle and inflatable zorb balls at his school's end-of-year fun day were blown about 10 metres into the air.
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One by one, members of Zane's family stood beside a coffin piled high with sunflowers and gaming controllers to give loving tributes to their treasured son, stepson, nephew, brother, grandchild and friend.
Georgie Gardam, Zane's mother, cried as she described the love she had for her firstborn.
"I was so young when I had you, I was only 15" she said.
"You grew up with me. You held my hands and kissed my face ... you were the man of the house.
"I spoilt you rotten and I have no regrets."
She described her son as a brave, caring "little man", who knew everything there was to know about dinosaurs, and who was obsessed with gaming.
"Everyone told me to get you off that PlayStation but I would let you play until your heart was content and you fell asleep," Ms Gardam recalled.
"I would come in, take your headset off, turn off the PlayStation and kiss your head goodnight.
"No matter the weather, we're together."
The service included tributes that came from the young gamer's gaming buddies from all over the world.
He had played with some of them since he was six-years-old.
"Holy f---, I love that little Aussie," said one.
"We have been friends for a long time ... I will miss him," said another.
Zane's aunt, Jesse, remembered her nephew as "one of the most wonderful people (she) had ever known".
"I watched you when you took your first breath," she said.
"You were kind, strong and fierce."
Zane's stepmother, Denitta, said Zane would always be in his father's heart, marked by a new tattoo.
Tributes and treasured memories from various other family members, school teachers and friends described an intelligent, funny young man who had loved games, talked enthusiastically with his peers about their common interests, and who never let his autism or ADHD get in the way of his rich and adventurous life.
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Meg Powell
Meg Powell has been a journalist for the Advocate Newspaper in North-West Tasmania since 2019. She has covered a range of areas and issues including crime, health, environmental issues, business, social affairs , the arts and education. Got a story to share? Email megan.powell@theadvocate.com.au or call 0448 302 029
Meg Powell has been a journalist for the Advocate Newspaper in North-West Tasmania since 2019. She has covered a range of areas and issues including crime, health, environmental issues, business, social affairs , the arts and education. Got a story to share? Email megan.powell@theadvocate.com.au or call 0448 302 029
