‘Lovely, bubbly person’ - Tributes to a much-loved South Shields woman who tragically died on holiday
The community has support the family of a South Shields woman who tragically died while on holiday.
Members of the community have rallied to support the family of a much-loved South Shields woman who died while on holiday in Fuerteventura.
Tributes have been pouring in for Emma Marchant who suffered a stroke and sadly passed away on Friday, October 23, with her mam, Julie, and dad, Kelvin, by her side.
The 30-year-old was on holiday with her mam when she was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery but due to the damage to her brain being so severe, medical staff were unable to save her.
A love for karaoke
Robyn Lazenby, a friend of Emma, has told the Shields Gazette that news of Emma’s death has sent a huge shock through the community due to her being a “lovely, bubbly person”.
The 32-year-old said: “Emma was really looking forward to going on holiday so everyone was devastated when they found out about her passing - it was a massive shock.
“She lit up every room that she walked into and she was such a lovely, bubbly person.
“I work in The Last Orders so I knew Emma through that, then one day I was sat on holiday in Zante and she all of sudden just popped up behind me.
“We ended up spending the rest of the holiday with Emma and her family and then when we got home, I would constantly see her.
“Emma absolutely loved singing on karaoke and she also loved having a drink with everyone.
“I’ve spoken to Kelvin and Julie and they’ve said that they don’t want her funeral to be a sad occasion so there will be big karaoke party afterwards, that’s what she would have wanted.”
Raising thousands for Emma’s family
In the wake of the tragic news, Robyn set up an online fundraiser to help Kelvin and Julie towards her funeral costs and ease any financial pressure they might face with having to take time off work.
Robyn’s initial target of £3,500 has been surpassed at the time of writing, something she believes is a testament to how well loved Emma was.
She added: “It’s absolutely amazing because it has been able to take a little bit of stress off Emma’s family at this horrible time.
“Hopefully we can look to raise more, I know The Last Orders where I work has raised more than £500 and a few of the other pubs around South Shields are also having charity nights to raise money.
“People are doing boxing matches in her memory and some people in The Mechanics Arms have even went and got her name tattooed with shot glasses next to it.
“She was so well known and all the community is coming together in her memory.”
Fundraising events in South Shields
You can view and donate to the fundraiser in Emma’s honour at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emma-marchant.
To help raise further funds for Emma’s family, The Novelist, on Market Place, in South Shields has announced that it will be holding a charity day/night on Saturday, November 14.
The pub has described Emma as “the life and soul” who “definitely loved a shot or two”.
For more details on the charity event at The Novelist, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/3318025528381325/.