A snowboarders tribute

The ride of our lives - a poem for Aaron.

At the top of that hill is where we feel best;
It’s the place where we ride, we play and we rest.

As we strap on our boards, the snow begins to fall;
The sound of thumping tunes, my friends and the mountain – right now I have it all.

As we slide down that hill, we yell out and scream:
‘This is the best ride we’ve ever had dude – this snow is a dream!’

We fly round that powdery bend, me and my friends,
Looking at each other like spoilt kids on Christmas day.
As we laugh and we slide, we are carefree and strong – snowboarding can do us no wrong.

When we reach that snow-dusted peak, we unstrap and stare,
‘Mate this place is so beautiful, this place is so rare.’

Holding my board I look up to the clouds and to the heavenly slopes below,
‘This is the ride of our lives my friend – I just want you to know.’


Rest in peace Aaron – ride those pearly clouds.

Tribute - Ben Thomas

I might not have known Aaron as long as some of you here today but he was one of my best friends. Having both joined the snowboard team in our first days of Uni, shared a passion for music and lived in the same halls, Aaron quickly became my first friend in Preston, so far away from home.

For me 1st year was characterized by weekly snowboard socials and frequent trips to Ste & Dans Flat, all of which accompanied by Aaron.
These unforgettable nights were made much more convenient when we all moved into Essex House….. Despite the quality of the property itself those 2 years were the best of my life and I owe much of that to Aaron.

One of the biggest highlights of these years was our Annual Snowboarding holiday with UST which never disappointed and many will remember forever.

Those of us who had the privilege of living with Aaron for the last couple of years are probably wondering why he and I never got a record deal with our outstanding covers of tenacious D and various other hits, although judging by the amount of eggs thrown at us outside Ribble Halls we can’t have been that amazing.

It was always obvious when Aaron was home, perhaps from the torrent of rock music coming from his room, yet still he provided that welcome and friendly face that you could always rely on in a time of need, or simply when pro evolution soccer seemed like more fun than work.
I’d never seen Aaron happier than when he was around friends and family, and in particular Lisa, she loved and cared for him, and changed his life for the better.

I can only remember the truly amazing times with Aaron because that’s all there were. His achievements socially and academically will always be remembered by those people who loved him, of whom there were many.
Thanks Holmes

From Grandad Allan and Grandma Barbara

Aaron was a loving grandson to us and it was always a pleasure to be with him. He was able to light up a room and now that light has gone out the world seems a little darker without him. He had many talents but his greatest was as a giver of love and laughter and for that he will be forever in our hearts........Grandma and Grandad Ogden

A golden heart stopped beating,
Two smiling eyes at rest,
God broke your familys hearts to prove to them,
He only takes the best.
Sweet dreams beautiful angel.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jacqueline Outram
January 8, 2009

another shining star

REST IN PEACE XXX

════╔══╗GONE BUT
════║══║NOT FORGOTTEN
═╔══╝══╚══╗xxxxxxxx
═║════════║
═╚══╗══╔══╝
════║══║GOD BLESS YOU ALL
════║══║MY LOVE TO YOU
════║══║AND YOUR LOVED ONES
════║══║ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS AND OUR MINDS

Alison
January 7, 2009

"I'll lend you for a little time
A child of Mine," He said,
"For you to love the while he lives,
And mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years
Or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call him back,
Take care of him for Me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you,
And should his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories
As solace for your grief."

"I cannot promise he will stay,
Since all from earth return.
But there are lessons taught down there
I want this child to learn.
I've looked this wide world over,
In my search for teachers true.
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes,
I have selected you.
Now will you give him all your love,
Not think the labor vain,
Nor hate Me when I come to call
And take him back again?"

I fancied that I heard them say,
"Dear Lord, Thy will be done,
For all the joy Thy child shall bring,
The risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness,
We'll love him while we may,
And for the happiness we've known,
Forever grateful stay.
But should the angels call for him,
Much sooner than we planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes,
And try to understand."

~ Author Unknown ~

Cheryl Dalton
January 7, 2009

ANGEL WINGS YOU WEAR

ANGEL WINGS YOU WEAR...♥ღ♥


The day you left broke our hearts
and the tears fell like rain,
but knowing that you now have wings
helps to ease the pain.

♥ღ♥

We know now when the snow falls
it is Angel dust from you
and when we see a shooting star
our Angel just passed through.
♥ღ♥

The rain drops do not make us sad
for they are not tears,
but sprinkles of love falling down,
our Angel again is near.
♥ღ♥

The winter cold has even changed,
Jack Frost no longer exists,
it's now a visit from our Angel
and he's left a special gift.
♥ღ♥

You also visit in the night,
your wings flutter with grace,
we know now when we awaken
that an Angel has kissed our face.
♥ღ♥

When the days are warm and bright
and the sun shines from above,
we feel the warmth wrap around us,
you've given an Angel hug.
♥ღ♥

You are with us at all times,
every day and night,
you try to end the pain we have
and the tears that we still cry.
♥ღ♥

Though Heaven is your home now
and Angel wings you wear,
you stay close to those you love,
until they join you there.
♥ღ♥
FLY HIGH ANGEL FLY

Elaine Ford
January 7, 2009

Beth's Poem - Aaron's younger sister aged 10

Beth wrote you a poem.

The Poem For Aaron

Aaron, although you have died,
And it can't be true
We will always love you
You have done a lot in your past life,
That you had to seek,
Unfortunatley, we can't tell you why others can't speak.
We all know you have died,
And you will stay in our hearts forever,
This means you will never been forgotten.
Aaron

love from Beth
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Liam's Words

These are the word written by Liam, his younger brother.

Sometimes I get the feeling'
I was back in the old days
When we were kids when we were young
Things seemed so perfect
The days were endless we were crazy we were young
The sun was always shining we just lived for fun.

When Aaron and I were kids, we always used to go out and play football and pretend we were premiership footballers. He was like Paul Scholes when it comes to tackling though. I’ll leave that to those who have seen Paul Scholes tackle. I also remember the days at Mrs F’s, terrorising the poor woman. A few examples; Aaron and Kev falling out of the attic and breaking Mrs F’s bed. Me, Aaron and Kev covering her house in flour- oops! And coming in and out of her house at all hours but it was alright because Aaron was her favourite. He was the best brother anyone could ask for apart from the time he said I was adopted. The memories will never be forgotten.

Those were the days of our lives
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing's still true
When I look and I find
I still love you

Simon's Words

Here are my words from the funeral.

Well where do we start with such a fun loving guy. It could be “Will you turn that music down. We’re trying to sleep/watch television/hear ourselves think!” The world will be a quieter place without you but it will certainly be emptier. I just hope that once you get past those Pearly gates that there’s plenty of earphones and bandwidth for the internet.
Whenever I’m walking the hills in the future and the snow arrives, especially on mountains I will think of you and the joy you brought me. No matter what mountains were in your way, you took on the challenge with courage and grace.
You touched everyones’ hearts and by that I mean everyone. Just looking at recent messages of support and seeing so many people gathering today has made us realise that we love you but so does the rest of the world. Till this tragedy, we didn’t know how much of the world we shared him with.Thankyou Aaron for just letting me take part in some of your adventure. We will meet again one day when I’ll probably tell you to turn your music down again.
We can all learn from you by cherishing all our loved ones as you never know what’s round the corner. Off you go mate. Off T’North
God bless Azzo. Gone but never forgotten.