Family heartened by sendoff for Jessica

MURRAY WILSON/Manawatu Standard

PAYING TRIBUTE: Two Cessna planes fly above the Palmerston North funeral service of flight instructor Jessica Neeson.

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She flew solo from the Taonui Aerodrome many times during her life, but flight instructor Jessica Neeson was flanked by family and friends as she took her final trip down the rural Manawatu runway.

Ms Neeson, 27, and trainee pilot, Patricia Smallman, 64, of Waikanae, were killed when the Cessna 152 they were in collided in mid air with another plane near the aerodrome on July 26.

About 500 people attended Ms Neeson's funeral at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Palmerston North yesterday.

Media were asked not to attend the service but her uncle, Clive Neeson, told the Manawatu Standard that family members were heartened to see so many people show up.

"We were warmed by the overwhelming amount of people that turned up from around New Zealand and the aviation industry itself, and the amount of people she had come to know after only four years or so in Palmerston North."

Another uncle, Richard Neeson, said the service was an "`excellent" sendoff for Ms Neeson, who grew up in rural community of Tokirima, near Taumarunui.

Friends, family and colleagues gave tributes and read poems during the service, he said.

"She did touch a lot of people. Everyone said they found her an approachable, friendly and happy person."

A candle was lit for Mrs Smallman at the service – a gesture that was done at her funeral in Waikanae on Monday.

As mourners gathered outside the church, two Cessna planes from Flight Training Manawatu, where Ms Neeson worked, did a fly-over.

After the service, Ms Neeson's casket was driven to the Taonui Aerodrome in a hearse for the wake.

Family and friends followed in Ms Neeson's Mazda car and the 1964 Chevy Impala that she grew up with, which was adorned with a wreath of native plants from the Whanganui River.

Massey University aviation students lined the roads on the way to the aerodrome.

The cars drove along the Taonui airstrip as three planes flew overhead, Mr Neeson said.

The family was dealing with Ms Neeson's death on a day-to-day basis, he said.

Her body will be cremated and her remains taken home to Tokirima.

- © Fairfax NZ News