Funeral for Wellington crash victims Shane and Sheldon Shorey
Two children killed in a horrific crash in central NSW have been laid to rest after an entire town came together in extraordinary scenes.
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A shattered mother left childless after a tragic crash has remembered her two sons as “brave and caring” souls before their tiny white coffins were buried beside each other at Wellington cemetery in the NSW central west.
Heartbroken family members and hundreds of mourners wearing footy jerseys in honour of Shane, 7 and Sheldon Shorey, 6, came together on Friday to farewell the boys who were killed after a car ploughed into them at Wellington on January 5.
In a moving final message shared with mourners at the funeral service in Pioneer Park, where the boys once played soccer, Shayleen Frail told her “baby boys” she loved them both dearly and dreamt of the day they would all be together again.
“As I cry myself to sleep each night I try to distract myself with memories of you both,” Ms Frail said.
“Memories of Sheldon doing the floss or walking around the house, chest out like a boss, or Shane hiding the footy from your brothers every night.
“There are so many memories, I miss you so much.
“Sheldon you were cheeky and the ladies love you indeed, you were such an outgoing little man and forever so sweet. Shane, my big boy, you were strong, brave and caring, always making friends.”
The boys were living at Emerald in Queensland with their father Joseph Shorey and spending the school holidays visiting their mother Shayleen Frail and family in Wellington when they were killed.
In his farewell tribute to the boys, Mr Shorey said part of him died when he found out his sons were dead.
“I often lie awake at night when the world is fast asleep and take a walk down memory lane with tears upon my cheeks,” Mr Shorey said.
“Remembering you is easy, I do it everyday but missing you is heartache that will never go away.
“I hold you tightly within my heart and there you will remain until that joyous day arrives that we will meet again.”
Before the boys moved to Queensland to live with their dad in early 2020, they spent their childhood in the central west and had a close relationship with their grandmother Denise Frail who was inconsolable at their funeral.
“Nan will always be thinking of you, how much you loved playing all sports, riding your bike, scooter and playing in the dark,” she said in a message to Shane, her first born grandchild.
“Nanny is going to miss your laughs, cry, cheeky smile and our little arguments,” she said of Sheldon.
“You were our little entertainer and you were not frightened of doing anything. There was not a dull moment when you were around.”
Family friend Wayne Wilson delivered the eulogy on behalf of the family and remembered their time playing junior league for the Wellington Cowboys and trips to Brewarrina with their pop.
“There are so many yarns and memories,” Mr Wilson said.
“Keep them in your memories by sharing yarns and mentioning their names from time to time.”
Photos showing the boys’ smiling faces and happy go lucky nature were played on a large screen at the front the service, as the Puff Daddy and Faith Evans’s voices sang “what a life to take, what a bond to break, I’ll be missing you”.
As the boys’ coffins were taken from Pioneer Park and put into a hearse, family members, first responders and mourners formed a guard of honour.
Traffic stopped flowing through Wellington as the hearse took the boys through the town one last time and shop owners and workers walked out onto the street to pay their respects.
Wellington Public School students and staff stood on either side of the road as the coffins passed, holding love hearts to show how much their former classmates meant to them.
At a brief grave side service, family friend Melissa Whitton delivered a message on behalf of one Shane and Sheldon’s best friend who was unable to attend on the day.
“They were his brothers and he wouldn’t change that for the world,” Ms Whitton said.
“From time to time they would have little bumps in the road, but they always managed to find each other again.”
Ms Whitton said the boys’ friend wanted to say to Shane and Sheldon “thank you for being my friend, I’m gonna miss playing in the tree at your pop’s, I’m gonna miss you both”.
Before the boys coffins were lowered, Mr Shorey put a Canterbury Bulldogs jersey on each coffin and kissed both for the final time.
A dispute between Mr Shorey and Ms Frail over how to farewell the boys caused a delay in the time of their funerals.
A Supreme Court ruling handed down last week paved the way for the boys to be buried in Wellington, after their mother initiated legal proceedings because Mr Shorey requested a cremation.
Police have charged Jacob Donn, the 25-year-old driver of the Holden Commodore which crashed into the boys, with 26 offences including two counts of manslaughter and failing to stop at the scene of a crash. Police allege he was unlicensed and drug affected at the time of the crash.
He has entered no pleas and been bail refused since his arrest on the night of the crash.
Mr Donn will reappear in court on Wednesday.
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