This week I received the very sad news that Hannah Freeman died of unknown causes after being separated from her father while walking in a Perth national park.
Hannah was 17 years old and one of the boarders that I came to know well while working at St Pauls College last year. She was spunky, wild, fun, cheeky and gave me as much trouble as anyone did. She was also sweet, thoughtful and had a genuine desire to make something of herself. I feel blessed to have known her and to have served her as dorm parent for a short time.
I am grieved that the world will miss out on a lifetime of her enthusiasm and wildness. But mostly I am grieved for her family and for the friends who were as close to her as family. Their lives are are irrevocably altered and my heart goes out to them as they learn what their lives look like without dear, hilarious Hannah.
I took this photo of Hannah on our 'Gangster Night' at the end of term 3 last year. She was making an announcement for me in some gangster accent or something - standard Hannah silliness and very funny!
You can read a little of the story of what happened here in The Border Mail.
That is heart breaking...but thank God you got to meet her and know a fantastic young person! xx peace be with you xx
ReplyDeleterest in peace babe.. i just wish we could of spent more time together xxx. always love you.
ReplyDeleteSteven Ross
i'll always love you
My dearest Hannah Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI hope you know how much I loved you.
A piece of my heart is with you forever.
Thankyou Rachel for your thoughtful comments & lovely photo.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteYou meant the absolute world to us, we will always love you like family. You will never be forgotten and you will stay in our hearts forever. You were a beautiful girl, with an amazing sense of humour, and, as Rachel said, you were wild, which always made it fun for the lot of us. We Love you so so much babe.
This photo that was put up showed her personality perfectly, thankyou for sharing it with us Rachel
Lizzie and Mollie xx
Dearest Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI'll always miss you and whenever I look at anything to do with tanning I will think of you with our song about having orange legs!
Miss you forever
XXX
to my dearst hannah.. i love you so much.. i wish you were here with me in the dorm..so many girls miss you. You were always there for me in sickness and losing weight. it hasnt hit me yet that you have gone.. love you heaps..bye XO
ReplyDeleteI love u hannah
ReplyDeletexox Charlie
poor hannah
ReplyDeletemay she rest in peace
Dear hannah
ReplyDeletei still dont get it that your gone
after i left st pauls we just lost contact and i didnt speak to you for almost a year.. but before i left you and i were pretty close, i've lost a few people in the past but somehow i just cant stop thinking of you. you were so amazing and im sure you still are where ever you are... i regret not talking to you much.. i miss you so so much babe rest in peace hannah freeman (L)
love you babe
liv xxx
so sad. does anyone know what exactly happened to her?
ReplyDeleteto the comment below, no i dont know exactly but i would really like to know so i could move on.. the last i heard was she went bush walking with her dad and had a fight with him and then someone found her dead..
ReplyDeletemiss you so much Hannah, i love you.
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know what happened yet?
its so hard to find closure when everything is so blank.
you are always in my heart
I wish Heaven had a phone so I could hear your voice again.. I thought of you today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, from which I’ll never part. God has you in his arms… I have you in my heart. Love you so much Hannah, i just wish i had spoken to you more after i left walla.. :( i still think of you everyday
ReplyDeleteLove liv xox
This was really nice to read everyone.
ReplyDeleteTobias x
I really miss you Hannah i actually can't get over this i still think about it every single day. I love you
ReplyDeleteliv xox
I deeply miss her every day, nothing will replace her loss.
ReplyDeleteMy 3 boys deeply miss her as well
Hannah Lauren, you are so dear to us, always loving you.
I know it's been over a year now, but there isn't a day where I don't think of you. You are always in the back of my mind, and still now I expect to turn a corner and see your cheeky grin looking at me, trying to make me do something silly and funny just to amuse ourselves. You are like a sister to me, and you always will be. Losing you was like losing a sister. I just hope wherever you are now you know how much everyone who knew you loved you and that you might miss us nearly as much as we miss you. But above all things i hope you're happy. I love you...
ReplyDeletehannah, u were my best friend in the whole world.. i miss you more than anything and i think of you like every moment of everyday. its so hard not having you around i know its been over year but i cant move on i dnt know what to do without you. i hope u know how much i love you and will never ever forget you. i wish i knew exactly what happened but i dnt n its really hard. miss you so so so so much. i feel for everyone that knew u in your short life. my heart goes out to every1. we will never forget her
ReplyDeletexoxox kate