GRAHAM and Kay Howie were touched by the more than 600 mourners who yesterday attended their son’s funeral to say goodbye to “a boy who everyone loved”.
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St Mary’s Church was not large enough to accommodate the hundreds of mourners who had come to say a final farewell to a son, brother, school friend and well-known speedway racer Lachlan Howie.
Those who did not fit in the church gathered outside around a loudspeaker relaying every kind word said about the popular teenager.
Lachlan was fatally stabbed at a party in Chiltern 10 days ago.
His distraught parents Graham and Kay sat holding each other as a close family friend and school teacher talked of a boy who had a “kind and sweet nature and was loved by everyone he knew”.
Lachlan was completing year 11 at Rutherglen High School and one day a week he would work at Wodonga Auto Transmissions as part of a VCAT course.
Days after Lachlan’s death the owners of Wodonga Auto Transmissions had told his parents they were planning to take him on as an apprentice after he had finished his year 11 study.
His parents believed Lachlan was aware of this and said the apprenticeship would have “completed him”.
“Everybody who knew Lachie knew that he loved his cars and that’s why he got involved in speedway racing,” Graham Howie said.
Lachlan drove what he called his lucky No. 5 Ford Cortina, which took him on to win many races.
Last weekend his brother, Warrick, 18, raced Lachlan’s car at Wahgunyah as a tribute.
A friend Lachlan had known since primary school also talked about the “best mate a person could ever have” and remarked about the good times they had enjoyed.
“Many of my life experiences were shared with Lachie. He even taught me how to drive a car on his family property,” he said.
Mourners struggled to hold back tears as the song Imagine by John Lennon filled the church.
It was followed by two of Lachlan’s favourite songs, Hero by Enrique Iglesias and Apologize by One Republic.
“We were so overwhelmed by the support we received, it made the service more bearable to know we were surrounded by family, friends and everyone who had touched Lachie’s heart,” Graham Howie said after the funeral.
The street outside the church was blocked off as hundreds of school friends and speedway racers formed a guard of honour after a funeral service attended by almost 600 people.
- The Border Mail attended the funeral yesterday with permission of the family.
