Tributes from the four siblings of Charlie Stevens as read at his funeral service
Charlie Stevens’ siblings have tearfully remembered their loveable larrikin brother, describing him as a “ratbag” with a smile “you couldn’t help but smile back at”. Read their eulogies in full.
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The voice and words of Charlie Stevens’ closest sibling, Tom, filled the William Magarey Room as a 2000-strong crowd of mourners gathered at Adelaide Oval to honour the “cheeky” 18-year-old on Thursday night.
“So crack another beer with me my friend, it makes your memories that will last to the very end,” he sings in Great Big Sun as the memorial starts. “And even when days get hard, there’s one thing we all know; The great big sun will rise, early tomorrow”.
Service host Tom Rehn said it was Charlie’s favourite song and he listened to it “again and again and again. He just loved it”.
Family, friends and work colleagues gathered to honour the life of Charles Hinchliffe Stevens, who was killed in an alleged hit and run in Goolwa during Schoolies celebrations on November 17, in words, music and memories shared.
Charlie’s four older siblings Dylan, Sophie, Josh and Tom shared their memories of “Links” – as they called him – in their eulogies.
These are their tributes.
Tom’s eulogy
“Charlie, my best friend, my biggest rival, my number one fan, my little brother.
“For many of the early years, I remember Charlie as a curious, entertaining little fella that followed my every footstep, questioning everything around him and looking at life through a compassionate, unique way.
“He loved making friends at school, but he wasn’t too good with the books.
“The effort he put in and his desire to learn, left us with no doubts he would do great things. “But that entertaining little fella knew how to push every single one of my buttons.
“At one-on-one basketball games in the backyard we’d either end up in him clenching his teeth and kicking off a grapple on the grass after losing or me letting him win and having to put up with the sh*t talk in my ear for days to come.
“He was a ratbag with one of those smiles you couldn’t help but smile back at.
“Our fight slowly transitioned from ending in dobbing and tears, to fat lips and headlocks. “We wore the same clothes, worked the same job, bought the same car, cracked the same jokes, shared the same big group of mates, and it felt more and more like I was talking to myself every time we’d call.
“We were cut from the same stone and understood each other better than anyone else.
“I was so proud of the young man Links had grown into, leaving school and finding a drive and passion for his new life on the tools.
“Or the loyal mate he was, always bringing people together, making them laugh and smile. “Usually in the man cave Charlie built in the back of the pool shed, full of speakers, lights dusty old couches from Gumtree usually with at least 10 of his mates.
“And when the house was free, they would find their way into mum and dad’s cupboards and steal all the green tea and play all the board games.
“I can still hear you stomping down the hallway every time I opened your sock drawer or looked into your cupboards.
“And when I’m just having a crack at absolutely anything at all – like you always did – I hear encouraging, “F*ck yeah bro, that was sick”.
“I know how much you looked up to me and that was something I never carried lightly. It gave me a sense of purpose and responsibility.
“You were taken in such a heartless and cowardly way, but it’s another reminder that life is precious and nothing is guaranteed. So there is no time for hate or anger while we have this gift of life.
“Although you’re never coming home, the impact you had on so many people around you with your smile and loveable character, means your energy lives on forever.
“Forever by my side, forever in our hearts, forever young, I love you Charlie.”
Sophie’s eulogy
“Our fun, life loving, baby brother Charlie.
“The bossiest little boy I’ve ever met, although I think his little nephew has taken on some of his traits.
“Some of the best memories were our family dinners in the early days, Charlie would force us all to take part in good day bad day.
“So, we all had to talk about one good thing from our day, and one bad thing, but if your answer didn’t suffice, Charlie wouldn’t allow us to move on to the next person.
“Good day, bad day, quickly ended when Dylan, Tom and I moved out of home.
“At out new weekly family dinners, Charlie would always be the last one to arrive here.
“He would burst through the door with, ‘What the hell have you all been doing today? It’s clear, I’m the hardest working person in this family’, followed by, ‘I’ve got so much cash, Soph’s wanna see?’
“One morning, I received about 15 messages from Charlie in the space of two minutes, in a roundabout way, he was trying to explain to me how much trouble he was about to be in, as he hadn’t completed his trade school book work, which was due in a week.
“I asked how long he had them for, which he replied, ‘About three months Soph’s, but what does that matter, I’m a bloody busy guy’.
“I told Charlie I would help him with his work on our next family dinner.
“Little did I know, the next morning, mum arrived at my house at 10 to seven to look after Oli.
“She swiftly handed me three trade school textbooks, followed by, ‘Your brother said you need to do this quickly for him’.
“I now feel like I’m almost a third year carpentry apprentice.
“You weren’t only adored by Oli and I, another big brother of yours was besotted by you.
“I remember when Charlie first met Kieran. Kieran was smashed with a million questions by Charlie the six year old.
“He always wanted to be close to him, whether that be at the dinner table, sitting on the couch or driving in the car.
“Kieran was always there on the sidelines to cheer Charlie on at basketball and footy.
“Kieran would almost always have to tuck Charlie into bed of a night-time and read a book, they shared a pretty special bond.
“Charlie, I promise Kieran and I will always ensure you’re part of the conversations around our family dinner table.
“Oli and your little niece will always know, their Uncle Charlie was the coolest, fun-loving and wild guy that lived life to the absolute fullest.
“You packed your 18 years of life to the brim, leaving behind the best memories for your friends and family to cherish forever.
“You’ve been taken from us in the cruellest of ways and our hearts are shattering, more and more, day by day.
“You annoyed the absolute sh*t out of me on numerous occasions but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
“I love you forever, Charlie boy.”
Dylan’s eulogy
“Charlie, our free spirited cheeky, charming, loveable brother.
“Words can’t begin to describe the pain of our broken hearts, as we gather here today to celebrate your life. You truly were one of a kind.
“As some of you probably know, one Charlie’s quirks included germs. He always had to have his own bag of chips, no sharing allowed.
“If someone touched his cutlery there would be a tantrum, even just a couple of weeks ago, a cut tomato in the fridge wasn’t going to cut it for his toasted sandwich.
“And we also can’t forget the countless arguments between Tom and Charlie, over who was wearing whose clothes.
“Chaz loved his mum’s chicken pasta and what a bowls of have it, only problem was, it had chicken in it.
“I’ll always remember one night when Charlie was only about two years old. Sophie, Josh and I were just chilling watching TV. All of a sudden we hear Emma, screaming ‘Charlie’!
“Dad comes down to us and says, we can’t find Charlie, have you seen him?
“We all got up and searched the house, including Tom and Charlie’s bedroom. This went on for about 20 minutes.
“Emma was running through the streets in a dressing gown screaming, thinking he may have gone to our friend Paul and Lou’s house around the corner.
“Meanwhile, dad was on the phone to triple-0 to report him missing. I remember thinking to myself, there is no way he can get out. He’s just too little.
“So I went back to the bedroom one more time, I looked behind the door that was covered with bags and towels and sure enough, there was Charlie looking up at me.
“And he just says, ‘you found me’ with a bit cheeky smile.
“Just about every other week, Charlie always claimed he was taller than me. Even though I proved it over and over, he was determined.
“From sticking his hair up to putting his arm around me and weighing me down. He was also pretty impressed with his gains at the gym.
“One of the first things he would say when I see him, is ‘check out these bad boys’, referring to his biceps.
“Chaz loved working and would also talk to me about his jobs and how great his boss Tom was to him.
“He would like to remind me that he’s raking in the cash and would say ‘I’ve got a couple of 100 on me right now, do you need some’.
“I’ll always cherish the endless hours spent in the backyard playing either cricket, footy, basketball, tennis, until the sun went down.
“But this usually ended up with Charlie cracking the sh*ts and chasing one of us away with a bat.
“Although this cruel and unfair tragedy has taken you from us, you lived life to the fullest and we were blessed with 18 of the best years, being you’re proud siblings.
“We will never forget that cheeky beautiful smile that would light up a room, every time.
“Forever 18, forever young, forever in our hearts and forever our brother. Rest in peace, Chaz.”
Josh’s eulogy
“My most favourite memories of Charlie, would also be the endless hours we spent in the backyard together.
“In winter it was footy, where I’d try and teach Charlie everything I knew.
“I think Charlie knew how proud of him I was, just to watch him play whether it was at school, club or even training with the senior boys at Goodwood.
“When Charlie was selected for the West Adelaide junior squads, he’d lay his whole kit out on his bed and he’d get me to come and show me that he’d been given number 14, just like Joel Selwood.
“In summer it was cricket. The little left hander with his Gray Nicolls Kaboom.
“From the moment we’d get home from school, Tom or Charlie would shoddy batting and we’d be playing until dinner time – at which point we’d ball one more ball for about 10 to 20 minutes trying to get Charlie out before the tea-break.
“Just the other week, Dylan and I were playing basketball in the backyard with Charlie.
I knew both Dylan and I were trying to make it look as though we weren’t trying because it had become clear that Charlie had surpassed us physically and as his older brothers we couldn’t let him know.
“He was also a better looking, but he knew that, he knew that.
“A few things I’m going to miss about Charlie which I never thought I would include: digging through the man cave to find my shaver that Charlie and his mates had been using for home haircuts but I never got the head lice.
“A house full of 18-year-old boys piling in the moment Dad and Emma left to go anywhere and sneaking into Charlie’s room on the way to bed, to turn his light and his phone off after he’d fallen asleep with the same TikTok video playing on repeat.
“But I actually did kind of enjoy doing that for him.
“As it’s already been mentioned, Charlie was very happy with his own work ethic.
“A couple of weeks ago we were out for dinner and Charlie was gloating about how he’d worked about 80 odd hours for the week.
“And he was asking me and Dad, what are the most hours you’ve worked in a single week?
“It wasn’t till we got home and Charlie got a message from his boss Tom, which he followed up with, ‘Oh f*ck, I’ve put the wrong dates on my timecard’, and it turned out he hadn’t worked as many hours as you’d like to have thought.
“One summer when Charlie was probably only seven or eight years old, we were down at Goolwa at our beach house.
“I don’t know why but I gave Charlie the nickname Chaz-Links. I think the truth behind is it sounded like cufflinks but it was stupid.
“Anyway, it annoyed Charlie, so of course it stuck and Dylan and Tom caught on pretty quickly.
“Over time, Charlie learnt to embrace Chaz-Links, which was eventually shorten to an affectionate, Links.
“Charlie hadn’t been referred to as Links much in recent years, but only a few weeks ago when dad and Emma were away overnight Charlie had all his boys around as he usually would, for beers and for his refound love of Fortnite.
“I was out in the kitchen and I could hear all of Charlie’s mates getting around him, probably taking the piss more than anything and they were calling him Links.
“And they were having a great time and it was very, very proud big brother moment.
“Chaz, you’ve given us a lifetime of memories, I’m lucky to call you my brother and I love you mate.”
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