Naomi - A Tribute by Parents Bev and Steve

Naomi was a bubbly vibrant beautiful young woman. She was a budding photographer and was studying at Leeds University. Naomi was always laughing, giggling and smiling. Her smile would light up the darkest room. Although Naomi had her own tough times in her short life, she was always there for her brother Shane, Rochelle and many close friends, if they were down it was Naomi who they turned too to pick them up, despite sometimes being low herself, she would never let them down. Naomi was extremely close to both her parents Bev,& Steve and also Shane & Rochelle. She was the 2nd of 3 very much wanted and loved children. Naomi had a keen eye in photography and had sold some of her photographs, making a little money to help her as a student. Naomi was brought up to have lots of friends, of which she had many from both sexes. Naomi worked hard to pass her driving test and was a careful and considerate driver, she loved to drive and took her friends and Rochelle everywhere. Sadly it was a crash that took her young life. Naomi had driven to Blackpool on that tragic day, it was the furthest she had driven since passing her driving test, and we had been very worried about her, when Naomi returned home at 8.30pm we breathed a sigh of relief, ironically it was a much shorter journey that took Naomi's life and left her close friend Rachael very badly injured. Our hearts and love go out to Rachael. The sudden and tragic loss of Naomi's life sent shock waves through her family and friends and all who knew her. Losing Naomi has had an extremely devastating effect on many many people. Naomi loved children and they loved her as much, she touched the hearts of all who knew and met her. We have had some very comforting words of support from people who only met Naomi once, and those that never met her but have read her tribute site. She was so well turned out always looking smart and loved to make sure her hair was perfect, she lead a good clean and decent life, had plenty respect for herself, and all those she loved and met, and was very much respected in return.

To say how we feel about the loss of our beautiful Naomi cannot be put into words, we yearn and ache to hold and touch and speak to Naomi, but we know we will now have to wait until we join her in her new home, where she is waiting for us. Naomi was one of the world's best, she was bullied when she was at senior school so badly that we took her out of the school and placed her in another much better one, this left an everlasting scar on Naomi and she would not tolerate bullies, after what she had experienced she always stuck up for the underdog and if she saw anyone being left out Naomi would invite them to join the group of people who she would be with at the time, especially in College and University.

Naomi will live on in everyone’s hearts and will never be forgotten, she has many wonderful friends and they have all been deeply affected by the sudden and tragic loss of Naomi, and are finding it very difficult to move forward with their lives.

Naomi would be proud that money is being raised in her memory and that it will be spent on a good cause. Naomi was a loving, caring and extremely kind young woman who was deeply affected by other people's misery, and would often cry. Naomi brought much happiness, fun and eternal love into our lives and we are so proud and lucky that Naomi was our daughter & sister and is extremely popular for all the right reasons. Naomi made an everlasting impact on all who knew and met her. It is such a shame as there are many people who were still yet to meet Naomi who would have gained so much pleasure and joy and felt Naomi's love, sadly that is now not to be. Naomi will always be remembered as a young beautiful vibrant bubbly girl, who brought so much fun love and laughter into our lives.

NAOMI CHERI GOUGH will NEVER be forgotten.

Naomi's Life - by Parents Bev and Steve

Naomi was a difficult baby, I later found out many years later that this was due to her having a difficult birth, she was in stress and we nearly lost her. From being born she would not drink any form of milk, which made it extremely difficult for us as she would be constantly crying. The health visitor and midwife just told me to keep persevering, this was so hard. It was a lady that worked in the chemist that advised me to try to feed her with baby rice, Naomi was only 3 months old, this worked and before long Naomi was feeding much better. However Naomi was still a crying child and would cry for long periods of time for nothing, I would put her in a pushchair and sit in the middle of fields so that I was not confined in the house and her driving me mad. Naomi always took care how she dressed from an early age, if she wore laces in her shoes, they all had to be tied so that the laces were all at the same length. She would only wear her pants under her naval, this would make me laugh. Naomi had lovely long hair and would sit in the bath with Rochelle and they would pretend to be mermaids. I would play Diana Ross which they loved and would mime the songs, both girls said I was a beautiful singer.

Naomi was always drawing and had an eye for detail. We were told on parent evenings that Naomi spent more time drawing than writing, in her book she had drawn cows in a field, the hooves were clearly drawn along with the udders. Naomi was not interested in writing, and maths and your basic education, although she was not illiterate and was quite clever when she applied herself, drawing and photography were to become her life.

I remember on one of a few occasions the girls came home with head lice. I treated their hair and told them not to mention it at school, as I was going in to see the teacher. Both girls' hair was below their waists and was always kept clean and neatly tied up. It was near the time of the parents evening. As we were waiting to go in to see the teacher, I noticed a picture which had been drawn by a pupil on the wall in the corridor, it was of a girl's head and large spiders on top. I burst out laughing and pointed it out to Steve, we immediately knew who had drawn that. Naomi had not told anyone verbally however she had told everyone in her favourite way, drawing.

If Naomi was not interested in anything she would give it up as a bad job, that included her school work, only did she excel if she liked what she was doing which was art. She succeeded in anything she was interested in, and amazed herself and others when she passed her theory test for her driving. I never doubted that she would do it, the knocks she had in her short life, had knocked her confidence.

We are a close family and Naomi and Rochelle were very close sharing secrets and concerns like sisters do. Naomi was also very close to her brother Shane, he would often go to Naomi with his problems where she would listen and try to help. Naomi was there for all her friends in just the same way.

Naomi was seriously bullied at senior school. Our family suffered from a neighbour from hell and the offending family then enlisted another family whereby their daughter enlisted 9 other girls, some being Naomi’s friends who then turned on her. As soon as we became aware of what was taking place we moved both girls from the school and placed them in a much better one, the level of harassment from both families meant us moving out of our district and not being able to tell our family and friends where we had moved to. Naomi was extremely happy at her new school and met some wonderful new friends who are still her friends today and visit and keep in touch on a regular basis. Naomi grew up to get over the bullying and became stronger for her ordeal, however the girls who had bullied her would often say horrible things to her and push and shove her about when she was out with her friends. This never perturbed Naomi and she would just laugh at them. If Naomi ever saw anyone being bullied she would go to their defence.

Naomi enrolled at Huddersfield Technical College, she was late starting as we had booked to go away, this was a terrible time for her, Naomi was a shy person and would not approach people, however a young girl eventually befriended her and her life took a turn for the better. After this experience if Naomi saw anyone on their own she would ask them to join her little group of people.

When Naomi was 16 she met her first love, this was Peter Jennings, known as PJ, he was another major turning point in Naomi’s life. PJ is a great lad and has a great bunch of friends who accepted Naomi and they all grew to love her dearly, everywhere the lads went Naomi went too. She was never in. PJ practically moved in to our home, we didn’t mind he was good for Naomi and a good chef. However after almost two years they drifted apart, but remained great friends. Naomi drifted off to pastures new and it wasn’t long before she met her soul mate Ty Boothroyd.

Ty and Naomi were meant to be together, Naomi was so happy, Naomi would always be at Ty’s, he has a love of motor cars and motorbikes and is capable of repairing and building his own, Naomi would be in and out with cups of tea and sandwiches for Ty and would muck in with anything he was doing. Naomi became very close to Ty’s mum Teresa. She is one of the few who has kept me going, with her inspirational words and her love for Naomi.

Sadly Ty and Naomi broke up in September 2006, this was an extremely difficult time for Naomi and she took the break up really badly. She suffered a terrible bout of depression and would be constantly in her bedroom crying and calling out in pain. I have since found out that Naomi would often go and sit in their special place in the pouring rain and cold all alone for hours on end. I would go into Naomi’s bedroom and tell her to get herself out with her friends, stating that this was the only way she would be able to move on with her life. Gradually she started going out with friends and built up a large number of further friends, all of whom Naomi loves very much. Our house was always full of girls getting ready to go out, the music blasting, the sound of laughter and giggles coming from Naomi’s bedroom. Rochelle could not wait for the day when she could join in and be part of all this. Sadly that was never to be. This was a good time for Naomi, she was out and about all the time and having so much fun. Although her best friend was Sarah King and they were practically inseparable, Naomi met the lovely Rachael Parr. Sarah had met her boyfriend and had taken on a full time job, so it was understandable that she would not be with Naomi all the time, although I am extremely grateful to Sarah for helping Naomi pull through the break up with Ty. Rachael and Naomi were like two peas in a pod, forever laughing and giggling, and eating, my did they love their food and no two thinner girls would you meet. Every night they would be sat laughing and giggling in our dining area, eating a Chinese or some muffins and squirty cream they had just got from the supermarket.

Eventually Ty and Naomi became friends again and it was thought that they would eventually get back together and that the break up was just a separation period as they were very young. On November 16th 2006 Naomi passed her driving test, we had bought her a car as a belated 18th birthday present, although she was now nearly 19.

Naomi was accepted in to Leeds University on a photography course. In Christmas 2005 we had bought her a very expensive camera, which she took everywhere with her, she was not opposed to walking up to people and asking them if she could take their photos. She had such a beautiful smile and charming manner that they never refused. Naomi would take photo’s of just about everything she saw. We are presently thinking about displaying some of her work in a gallery. Now we look at them and we feel like we are looking through Naomi’s eyes at all the wonderful things on this bad Earth that she saw.

Naomi had many part time jobs, though had itchy feet, she was never content to stay in one place for long, she was unhappy at University the course was not what she had been lead to believe it was going to be and often when she arrived after getting up early and waiting for the train etc, she would find that the class had been cancelled and would have to return home. This lead Naomi to be less interested, although she still continued to take photos and was now selling some of them.

Naomi began working in our local bar, where she soon became extremely popular with the locals. Naomi is a beautiful girl both inside and out, and always good for a laugh. Young lads and men soon started to fill up the place. The joys of being a barmaid means taking some jibes and being made fun of, Naomi loved this and would give as good back, which the guys loved. Naomi displayed some of her photos in the bar and once the customers found out they were hers, they started to buy them.

Naomi was 19 on the 1st December 2006 and Sarah shared the same birthday the following day. The girls along with a group of others all went out in fancy dress, this was a common trait that Naomi had introduced to her nightlife and the girls always looked great. Naomi had a great time, and I knew then that she was coming back to us, she was now looking very happy, I used to ask her on a weekly basis if she was feeling happy, and eventually much to my delight she told me that she was. I felt so much more at ease for her, as I had been extremely worried for her.

On January 6th I went to the local shopping mall, with Naomi to help her choose a cocktail dress and accessories. Naomi looked stunning in all of them and I was yet again so proud of her. Chris Cockroft, Shane’s best friend had invited Naomi to a Hollywood style ball, He had asked Naomi stating that he wanted to take a beautiful girl on his arm, and would be very proud to walk in with Naomi. Naomi looked absolutely fabulous that night and I new Chris was proud, when he saw Naomi, his mouth dropped open. He said that he was the proudest bloke at the ball that night and that people were falling over themselves to find out who Naomi was. I had previously told Naomi to tell people that she did not know him and that she was his escort for the night, Naomi had a fantastic sense of humour and did just that. Chris and Naomi said that it was the best night they’d had in a long time. Chris said that he would not have had such a great time had Naomi not been with him. It is so nice to listen to Chris tell his story of that night, that is the most wonderful memory he has of Naomi and he is so pleased that the memory belongs to him and I know he will treasure it forever.

On January 09th Naomi and Rachael came home at approximately 9.00pm to tell us that they were going on an adventure trip to Blackpool. I told them that they must wait and go the following day.

On January 10th, I left my Tom Tom for Naomi and I told her that I loved her, gave her a hug and a kiss, as I had done everyday of her life. I told them to be careful and let me know that they had arrived in Blackpool, all the time hoping that they would change their minds. At 3.20pm I received a text from Naomi, informing me that she had arrived safely in Blackpool.

Naomi along with Shane and Rochelle texted me all day long and would often ring me during the course of the day whilst I was at work. I didn’t mind as I love all my children and it was validation that they were alright. When Naomi went out on a night with her friends I would wait up into the early hours of the morning until she came home. Always with my mobile at the side of me in case she needed me.

At 8.30pm on 10th January Naomi and Rachael arrived home safely and both Steve and I breathed a sigh of relief. They both came into the house and were buzzing and told us the events of their day. They were both so extremely happy. We congratulated Naomi on driving to Blackpool and back. Naomi told us that she had been asked by the landlord if she would work for a couple of hours and at 9.00pm she left to go to work. I told her that I loved her and asked her to be careful It had now started to rain.

When Naomi worked at the bar she was usually in by 12.00pm. Naomi had asked if Rachael could sleep and though Naomi had a double bed they had wanted to sleep on the blow up bed in the lounge, which I left out ready for them

We went to bed at about 11.00pm that night, and I woke up suddenly at 12.45am. I was enveloped in dread and fear, I went downstairs to find that the girls had not returned yet. I immediately knew something was wrong. I tried to text and phone both of them to no avail. I woke Steve up and told him that Naomi was not coming home, he asked what time it was and I told him it was 12.50am and repeatedly said that Naomi was not coming home. It was a gale outside and I decided that I was going to look for my baby and I felt that she needed me. Steve said that he would go and he set off. Shortly after Steve had set off I heard a car pull up outside and was relieved I picked up the phone to tell Steve that Naomi had arrived home, however when I looked out of the window, I saw a police car.

The rest is too bad to state, except to say that the police had come to inform us that my beautiful baby girl, Naomi had been in a crash and had not survived . Another car was involved in the incident and there is presently an investigation going on. Naomi had finished work at 11.20pm as the pub was empty and had gone into Halifax with Rachael to get a pizza, on their way back Naomi had lost control of the car and crashed in to the barrier on the flyover, the impact took her life instantly. I am pleased to say that Naomi did not suffer at the time. Rachael was left with severe injuries and the mental scars of seeing her best friend lose her life in front of her and being unable to do anything to bring her back. Rachael kissed Naomi and told her that we loved her before having to leave her for the emergency services to attend to them.

Our much loved adored and cherished daughter Naomi had her funeral on the 23rd January 2007. Around 700 mourners attended the ceremony, although I was still in shock and thought the church was empty.

Sadly the two main loves of Naomi’s life driving her car and food assisted in the taking of Naomi’s young vibrant life. Naomi had so much to live for, she was looking to change University, find a place to live with Rachael, she was already planning her next holiday and to visit Las Vegas for her 21st birthday.

Naomi had an everlasting affect on all who met her, She will live in the hearts of all those who love Naomi forever. Naomi was a beautiful, kind, caring young woman, a great sense of humour and always full of fun she always had time for all her family and friends. I can still see Naomi leaving the house on a night out with her shorts and shirts on, she had lovely long legs and stunning figure. Her smile and twinkling eyes will live with me until I go to my grave. I have many ,many fond and beautiful memories of Naomi as do all the family. But we must keep some of these to ourselves as we do share Naomi’s memory with thousands of people, it's nice to have something for ourselves. I will always be proud that my baby chose us to be her family. .

Please take a minute to think of Naomi’s friends, who have seriously been affected by the tragic sudden loss of a wonderful, much-loved young woman, they are all finding it extremely difficult to cope and it is now 5 months on. Also for Rachael, who will be scarred forever by the memories of that terrible night. We love Rachael and will always be there for her no matter what. She did for my baby what I had done everyday of her life, she gave her a kiss and told her I love you. I know that Naomi would have heard these words somehow, and for that I am eternally grateful.

If only we had more Naomi’s in this world, it would be a much happier and safer place!

In life we were extremely close, in death we are closer still.