A young Scottish student who died in a horrific car crash in Ireland was set to be proposed to by her boyfriend on Christmas Eve, a heartbroken congregation heard at her funeral.
A Life Cut Short in a November Tragedy
Chloe Hipson, aged 21 and from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, lost her life alongside four friends on November 15. The group were travelling to a night out in Dundalk, County Louth, when their car was involved in a devastating collision with another vehicle.
The former Bellshill Academy pupil had moved to Ireland only in April and was studying quantity surveying at Dundalk Institute of Technology, where Reverend Peter Davidge said she had been 'flourishing'.
A Proposal That Never Was
At her emotional service at Daldowie Crematorium in Glasgow on Tuesday, Reverend Davidge revealed a poignant secret. Chloe's partner, AJ Finlay, also in his 20s, who was himself injured in the crash, had planned to ask for her hand in marriage.
He had already sought and received permission from Ms Hipson's father and brother, intending to propose on Christmas Eve. Instead of celebrating an engagement, family and friends gathered to say their final goodbyes.
Her white coffin, adorned with flowers, arrived in a traditional white horse-drawn carriage, with mourners carrying pink balloons in her memory.
A Community in Mourning
The Reverend paid tribute not only to Chloe but also to the four Irish friends who died with her: Chloe McGee, Alan McCluskey, Dylan Commins, all 23, and Shay Duffy, 21. Funerals for the other victims have already been held in Ireland.
The two occupants of the other vehicle involved in the Dundalk crash survived. In the wake of the tragedy, a fundraising campaign raised over £30,000 to repatriate Chloe's body to Scotland.
Reverend Davidge concluded a prayer by remembering Chloe as 'always perfect, for always 21, for always just a lovely person.'
