Chloe Coss laid to rest in colourful service

Dressed in her favourite colours, Chloe’s loved ones gathered in St Nicholas Catholic Church, Tamworth, to reflect on her life.

She would have loved to see them all decked out in the rainbow of colours, her Poppy, Darren Wallace, said as he shared his fondest memories of the little girl they called their Pink Wiggle.

“I can see Chloe now, smiling at all the beautiful colours you’re wearing,” Mr Wallace told the sea of people in Tamworth’s St Nicholas Catholic Church as he gave the eulogy.

“I want to thank everyone for their love and support.”

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Two-year-old Chloe’s battle with a rare illness came to an end on September 17.

It was just six months after her diagnosis with stage four rhabdoid meningioma metastatic cancer.

Mr Wallace said the family dearly wished they’d had more time with their little princess, “but that wasn’t to be”.

He spoke about Chloe’s cheekier moments, including one of her favourite games: throwing things for her siblings to pick up.

He loved her bossiness, he said, also referring to her “beautiful throwing arm” that would rival a New York Yankees pitcher.

It was after a slideshow of photos and videos that captured the little girl’s love for the Wiggles, music, her little brother Noah and big sister Alexis, her mum Shiralee, her dad Barry, and her extended family.

Led by Father Chris Onuekwusi, the service included some of Chloe’s and her family’s most-loved songs, such as Jessica Mauboy’s Fallin’ and Rod Stewart’s Have I Told You Lately.

The latter song was also the favourite of Chloe’s aunt Becky Coss who, in another family tragedy, lost her life to complications of the genetic condition progeria, in her teens.

Chloe’s aunt Donna Callinan gave the reading, and aunts Athy Wallace and Tara Goraya read the poems A Little Angel, A Letter From Heaven and Heaven’s Little Angel.

These all reflected a saying the family held dear during Chloe’s fight for life: “Most people can only dream of seeing an angel – we got to cuddle one”.

Fr Onuekwusi told the mourners: “It’s very painful to know she has passed away and will never come back, but we are very grateful to God for the two years we had with her … she lives with God and will always remember the love you had for her.”

Chloe’s pink-and-purple-clad male family members carried her bright-yellow coffin out of the church as the Jay Laga’aia rendition of Float Away played – the last song the little girl listened to before passing away in the arms of her family.