“Bright spark” farewelled at a service in Devonport

Hillcrest victim Jalailah “JJ” Jones will be remembered as a ‘bright spark’ who loved to dance and sing karaoke, her moving funeral service heard today.

Jalailah Jones, known as JJ to her loved ones, was a “little mum” to all the younger kids in her life and was fiercely protective of her little brother.

The 12-year-old is the fourth of six victims of the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle tragedy to be formally farewelled at the Mersey Gardens Chapel in Devonport.

The funerals of the remaining victims – Chace Harrison and Addison Stewart – will be held a the same venue on Friday.

Celebrant Tracey Bruce said Jahailah, the daughter of Rhiannon and Trent, loved to dance and sing and a big fan of karaoke.

“She also loved getting her nails done and would play around with hairstyles,

“She was a real poser,” Ms Bruce told mourners who came to bid JJ goodbye.

Teacher Miss Duff said JJ’s infectious grin bought a spark to her day and the older sister was very protective of her little brother who also attended Hillcrest.

“She was always full of hope, always ready to learn,’ she said.

JJ also loved to attend church and was up and ready every Sunday.

She was a member of the Ignite Kids group at the Devonport Church of Christ.

Breaking News Breaking News Hillcrest victim Jalailah Jones.

The Church said JJ was a bright spark who they considered part of its family.

“We will miss her. Our hearts ache for this tragic loss. We don’t understand it but we know that she is safe in the loving arms of Jesus,” the church said.

“Let’s put our arms around each other and Hillcrest Primary as we support each other through this confronting and heartbreaking time.’

The hundreds of floral tributes, teddies and other toys left at vigil outside the school will be collected to be preserved on Friday.

Two children remain in hospital while one was lucky enough to be home for Christmas with just broken bones.

Devonport City Council General Manager Matthew Atkins said while the focus was on collecting the thousands of tributes in the most respectful and sensitive way possible with the community, safety measures were needed to help protect those attending.

Hillcrest Primary School Devonport Tasmania. Picture: Jason Edwards

“The section of Lawrence Drive outside the school will be tightly supervised by police to safely manage any traffic.”

Mr Atkins said the council would store the tributes safely and work with the family members, and the Hillcrest school community, to create a permanent memorial to honour the six students taken to soon.

“While we can’t take away the anguish that our community is currently going through, we are accessing expert advice to do what we can to ‘be there’ and provide support as we all go forward,” he said.

Hundreds of messages of condolence have been left on the council’s Hillcrest Community Public Fund website.

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