Louise Anne Turner 5 November 1974 – 24 January 2025

Dominique Tomlinson

Hi, my name is Nicky and I am Maree's close family friend from WA. I have known Louise, or Lou-Lou, as she was affectionately called, since I first met her at our house in Willetton when we were kids. Lou-Lou's weekly visits with Maree to our house usually involved Maree sitting with our Mother, Jane and Richard, when he wasn't at work, and having a yarn about some of her experiences with Lou-Lou over a cup of tea. All the while Maree would look over at Lou-Lou and smile and laugh to show her that she was included. It was crystal clear to see that Lou-Lou enjoyed this and loved being with us all and was a very social person. Lou-Lou had a great sense of humour and would laugh and smile, make eye contact and gesture when communicating with us. Although communication was limited, she spoke in brief sentences to connect with us and it was pretty obvious that she understood what we were saying as she answered our questions to the best of her ability. Lou-Lou's antics were funny. She would go off to the toilet and let Maree know that's where she was going but some time on the way back from the bathroom she would get side tracked and pick up something she liked the look of, like a tv remote, and stow it away in her bag which she always carried along with her soft toy named "Big Ted". Lou-Lou gifted us laughter with these little things that may have seemed a bit annoying at the time, but they were largely amusing and endeared her to us. We enjoyed and looked forward to having Maree and Lou-Lou over, and our life is so much the richer for having these memories. They provide us with a much needed understanding for what it's like to live in this world with the extra challenges that Maree and Lou-Lou faced together. It was eye opening and humbling because not all the experiences that Maree shared were funny and so Lou-Lou's gift to our family was also humility. Everybody, whether we like it or not is conditioned by society, advertising and so forth, to be made to think that we are not good enough, or don't have enough and so the endless list goes on. Lou-Lou's presence in our lives taught us that it was important that we stopped thinking only of ourselves and learn to appreciate and care about the significant difficulties some people go through. Lou-Lou took us away from our heads and into our hearts and that's probably Lou-Lou's most important gift of all even though I may not have realised it as a child. We were grieved and shocked to learn of Lou-Lou's sudden passing but I believe that Lou is in heaven now with spirit providing her love. I also think that the soul chooses its journey before it enters this world which makes Lou-Lou's soul an especially brave one. I like to imagine Lou is with Jane and her other loving relatives and friends who have also passed over and that they are watching us now as we celebrate her life together.