“I will miss her forever” — heartbroken Tiana Taylor pays tribute to little sister Brittany Haste

Brittany Haste loved to travel. By the time of her death at age 23, she had visited 21 countries. She made her final trip last year, despite being desperately ill, to her sister Tiana’s wedding in England. “She absolutely shone,” recalled Tiana at her sister’s funeral this month. Read her moving tribute here

Happy times ... In the final year of her life, Brittany travelled with her mum Sharon to attend her sister’s wedding as maid-of-honour. From left: Sharon Haste, Brittany and newlyweds Mark and Tiana Taylor.

When I found out Mum was pregnant with Brittany, I was devastated. I loved being the baby of the family and I wasn’t ready to give up that position. Little did I know that being big sister to the incredible Brittany would be the greatest privilege of my life.

We’d often joke that Brit was Mum’s favourite, but it wasn’t really a joke, it was true and it wasn’t hard to see why. This incredibly beautiful girl with the cheekiest smile, boundless creativity and the most genuine heart – there was no competition.

To you, Brit may have been an amazing friend or relative, but to me she was everything — my baby sister, my best friend, my absolute rock and, not too long ago, my beautiful and elegant maid-of-honour.

Even though Brit was seven years younger than me, we were super close – growing up we shared a bedroom for a LONG time, not because we had to but because we wanted to. We may not have talked every day but we could talk about everything – or just as happily sit in comfortable silence.

Despite being seriously ill, Brittany Haste travelled to England last year to be the maid-of-honour at her sister Tiana Taylor’s wedding.

There are no words to quantify how amazing my baby sister was. She will always be the unattainable benchmark for kindness, thoughtfulness and beauty both in terms of her soul, and a smile that beamed brighter than the sun itself.

Hundreds farewell young cancer victim Brittany Haste

One thing that was undeniable was how deeply Brit cared for others, her empathy was truly her greatest strength. She would always give the best hugs – waiting for the other person to pull away first and patting/rubbing the centre of their back to help release endorphins.

She was also extremely adventurous – bravely travelling alone to live and work in Spain when she was just out of high-school. She never let anything stand in the way of her desire to explore the ends of this incredible earth.

Even wheelchair bound, she travelled across the world to be the maid-of-honour at my wedding in England. A role where she absolutely shone! Looking beautiful beyond words, giving an incredibly heartfelt speech and making sure I didn’t spill a Mars bar on my dress before my jaunt down the aisle.

Beyond measure is a good way to describe my little sis, she was:

Kind beyond measure

Loving beyond measure

Smart beyond measure

Creative beyond measure

Strong – so, so strong beyond measure

Beautiful beyond measure

I could go on forever.

There are a few things that are also beyond measure:

How much I miss her already,

How much I will miss her forever

How much I love her,

How much we all love her,

How broken my heart is.

"She truly left this world a more beautiful place" … a joyful Brittany Haste pictured on one of her many European travels.

But I know this is not goodbye, it’s see you soon. In life, we all know how vibrantly Brit lit up a room, now she lights up the universe — she dazzles in the magnificent sunsets, twinkles in the stars that fill the night’s sky, shines in the droplets of rain in a thunderstorm and awes in the colours of the wildflowers.

She truly left this world a more beautiful place and we are all so much richer for having had her in our lives.

So remember the lessons she taught you, treasure the memories you share and live each day knowing Brit will always be cheering you on.