Wallaville Country Hotel to host tribute evening for Samaralee Stephensen

A Bundaberg musician will be one of many people performing at a special celebration of the all-too-short life of his beloved daughter following her sudden death at the age of 28.

Samaralee Stephensen

The Wallaville Country Hotel will host a tribute evening for adored “party girl” Samaralee Stephensen following her sudden death earlier this year.

The community was rocked when the 28-year-old died in her sleep due to an unknown heart condition which triggered a fatal heart attack on Monday, February 26, 2024.

Her father Danny “Cowboy” Parsons said while he and Samaralee’s younger siblings were struggling with the shock loss of a truly beloved young woman, he hoped the tribute event would remind people to hold their loved ones close.

Samaralee Stephensen and her dad Danny Parsons.

Mr Parsons said more than 300 people attended Samaralee’s funeral, and that she had lived and studied in the Bundaberg region her whole life.

Her positive, “happy-go-lucky” nature had amassed dozens of friendships despite childhood setbacks including mild cerebral palsy and scoliosis keeping her off the playground.

In spite of a tougher than usual childhood, Mr Parsons lovingly joked Samaralee “knew how to party” and often attended music gigs with him while he was on the road performing.

The veteran spoke candidly about the shock of losing his eldest daughter, and said the pain of losing a child was like nothing he had ever experienced.

Samaralee Stephensen died at 28-years-old after succumbing to a fatal heart attack in her sleep.

He recalled the moment he got the phone call, and said he initially did not believe it was true until he arrived at the house Samaralee had spent the night in when she died.

“I spoke to her that Sunday night, because whenever she was away she would always chat and say ‘I love you, Dad,’ and I said ‘I love you, too,” he said.

After chatting that evening, she said “I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, I love you heaps”.

Mr Parsons heartbreakingly believes he may have been one of the last people to speak to his daughter alive.

He struggled to put into words how he felt in the moment when it truly sank in his daughter had died.

The pain of driving to the house where she had died was compounded when he was asked to help carry her body out of her friend’s home.

“To carry my own daughter out, in a body bag … that was tough,” he said.

“They put her in the back of the van, and gave me a few minutes and I told her I was sorry, that I’d meet her again … man that hurt.”

The Wallaville Country Hotel is hosting a tribute event dedicated to the memory of Samaralee Stephensen.

“You can erase the pain but you can’t erase the memories,” he said.

Mr Parsons said the event on March 30, would be held in Smaralee’s honour as a lover of country music and good times shared with family and friends.

He said he was surprised at the positive feedback it had already received, with several other musicians and bands coming forward to perform with him, including PJ Country Rock, Aura Girl, Bones and Co, Miss Mikki and more.

The event is free entry, with raffles and giveaways throughout the night.

“What I’ve done for my daughter, I took a photograph and I’ve got this big projector and it’s going to project a picture of her onto the roof,” he said.

“While they’re playing, she’ll be on the roof looking down and watching over us.”

Originally published as Wallaville Country Hotel to host tribute evening for Samaralee Stephensen