Families remember loved ones lost in fires

"SURELY they are here in spirit, taken too suddenly without goodbyes, au revoirs, best wishes or reassurances that they are at peace, not far away, even perhaps in the next room."This was how Natasha Davey's aunt Clare Pullar expressed her grief over the loss of the young family who seemed to charm everyone they met. And many could have been forgiven for believing Robert and Natasha Davey and their two daughters, Jorja, 3, and eight-month-old Alexis, were just outside the room. More than 500 relatives, friends and even some strangers packed the Warrnambool Entertainment Centre yesterday to honour the family who, despite having left the city more than a decade ago, have been reclaimed as its own. The former Warrnambool couple, their children and their two beloved Alaskan malamute dogs lost their lives when a bushfire swept through Kinglake earlier this month.Father Scott Lowrey, of the Anglican Parish of Warrnambool, warned those gathered with Robert and Natasha's Warrnambool parents - Joan and Leon Davey and Michael and Elizabeth Halls - that they would "experience a vast range of emotions".As a slide-show rolled behind an altar adorned with a CFA helmet and family trappings like St Kilda Football Club scarves, toys and wine bottles, Father Lowrey's caution rang true. Those closest to Robert and Natasha painted a vivid picture of a family with a contagious love for life, their "huge" Alaskan malamutes and wine.Raylene Gass recalled her larrikin cousin Robert visiting when her daughter had her leg in plaster.She left Robert in the room with the young patient who insisted she did not want her cast signed. "I returned to find Rob had coloured all her toes black with the permanent marker - I could have throttled him," she said to much laughter. Robert's younger brother, Darren, choked back tears as he spoke on behalf of another brother, Shane, who recalled how Robert "was there to protect me like any brother should."Mrs Gass told of Joan and Leon's joy when Robert met Natasha in the Warrnambool Safeway supermarket. "Who could foretell the joy and blessing a pretty young girl could bring?" she said."(She was) the daughter we always longed for." The Red Tent Singers performed Brahms' Lullaby for the gathering before Ralph and Sandy Koch, of the Alaskan Malamute Club of Victoria, spoke of the many good times they spent with the Daveys, who lived just down the road from them. "On the morning of February 7, Tash phoned to warn us that the fires were close. Such was the considerate nature towards others that she was more considerate of others than herself," Mr Koch said. The gathering heard of Natasha's sharp business mind which led her and Robert to become successful wine merchants, but the couple's over-riding passion was their girls. Jorja was a "party girl" who loved celebrating birthdays and telling "stories of frogs and princes", mourners heard. Many dubbed baby Alexis "little Rob" after her proud father while the man himself called her "Mini-Me". Alexis, Ms Pullar said, was a "loved and contented baby still on your mother's breast. Perfect, unblemished and untouched, except by love". A final collection of photographs, showing the family's last Christmas together - and Alexis' only one - reinforced the cruel finality of the tragedy.One image stood out: that of a beaming Jorja donating some change to a local CFA volunteer.