Balloons have filled the sky over Stephanie Scott's home town of Canowindra in tribute to the teacher.
CHATTING with her sisters as she fell asleep at night, flirting with a boy who became the love of her life, and planning a wedding so warm and loving it would have been as enjoyable for her guests as it would have been for her.
These are just some of the qualities that made Stephanie Scott’s spirit so captivating, her father Robert told me yesterday as he shared cherished memories of her beautiful life and expressed a hope that his bright, bubbly 26-year-old daughter was now “in the best place possible”.
TRIBUTES: YELLOW LANTERN, RIBBONS LAID AT MURDER SITE
ACCUSED KILLER STANFORD ‘LIKED TO WATCH NAZI FILMS’
POLICE TURN TO HOLLAND IN TRAGIC SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
STEPHANIE’S SISTER: WEDDING SPEECH SHE NEVER DELIVERED
Stephanie’s parents, Merrilyn and Robert Scott, at a memorial picnic in Leeton / Picture: Chris McKeen Source: News Corp Australia
The Scotts should be on a post-wedding high right now but instead they are preparing for a funeral just days after Stephanie was meant to marry her childhood sweetheart Aaron Leeson-Woolley.
“When you die I don't know what happens really, but you leave this body and our spirit is what goes on,” Mr Scott said.
Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
“She had plenty of spirit so, whatever happens, she should be in the best place possible because she had one of the best spirits you’ve ever come across.”
Ms Scott was allegedly murdered by cleaner Vincent Stanford, who worked at Leeton High School where Stephanie was last seen alive on Easter Sunday.
Whitton Stock Route Road in Cocoparra National Park where Stephanie Scott's body was found / Picture: Adam Taylor Source: News Corp Australia
Mr Scott yesterday spoke of his daughter's love of school and drama from an early age, saying she grabbed every opportunity.
Stephanie Scott / Pictures: Supplied Source: Supplied
Stephanie Scott as a girl / Pictures: Supplied Source: Supplied
He fondly recalled that, growing up in a family with two sisters and two brothers, there was never a dull moment.
“The three girls were in one room so they became really close. They just loved it. They used to go off to sleep together and talking, you know what girls are like. They just thought that was the best time ever.
Stephanie Scott’s father Robert reads some of the tributes to her / Picture: Jeremy Piper Source: News Corp Australia
“They used to put plays on for us at home; they would always get dressed up and Stephanie would have all the play acts. She was probably five or six. She would have grandma and grandpa and us sitting down to watch.”
Schoolteacher Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia
Ms Scott was born in Sydney and the family lived in St Clair before moving to the country when she was about nine.
The family settled in Canowindra, in the NSW Riverina, where she joined the gumnut girl guides, played soccer and lived a carefree childhood. Mr Scott taught at the Canowindra High School, where each of his five children attended and said his daughter always loved school and was hungry to “learn anything”.
Stephanie Scott with her mother Merrilyn / Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia
Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Facebook
Ms Scott went on to study teaching at Charles Sturt University, where she built a group of lifelong friends, spending weekends together at dress-up parties.
After getting her driver’s licence, a family friend gave her a 1987 Holden Camira, she nicknamed “La Fonda”.
Aaron Leeson-Woolley and Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
“If I was doing some work on it for her, if I was out there, she had to be out there. She would be there to hand me the spanner,” Mr Scott said.
“She loved her music, she had her iPod and she loved having a few tunes when she was driving.”
Robert Scott / Picture: Chris McKeen Source: News Corp Australia
Aaron Leeson-Woolley / Picture: Chris McKeen Source: News Corp Australia
After graduating from university Ms Scott landed a job in Leeton, and she and Mr Leeson-Woolley relocated together. They were together for about four years before Mr Leeson-Woolley proposed to his high-school sweetheart. They were due to be married last Saturday.
Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Facebook
Stephanie Scott / Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
Mr Scott said they had been taking weekly dance lessons in Griffith to practise what would have been their first dance together — to a Keith Urban track.
A yellow-ribbon tribute to Stephanie on Whitton Stock Route Road / Picture: Adam Taylor Source: News Corp Australia
“Stephanie’s aim was to get everyone feeling like it was their wedding as much as hers. You walk around the house and there’s so many little things she planned for the wedding. That’s the most devastating thing — they’re not going to be used.”
As Mr Scott sought to celebrate Stephanie’s life yesterday, it emerged grief-stricken locals had hung yellow ribbons and lanterns in an impromptu shrine near where her body was found last week.
Stephanie Scott’s father Robert reads some of the tributes to her / Picture: Jeremy Piper Source: News Corp Australia
Originally published as Stephanie Scott’s dad remembers his girl