St Thomas’ Anglican Church in Port Macquarie was adorned in pink and black balloons, butterflies and Betty Boop, Tyla-Rose’s favourite colours and things.

Mourners shed tears for Tyla-Rose and the family she leaves behind but took on board the words of Leanne Smith, the church’s hospital chaplin, who said “let grief give way to a measure of joy.”

Images of the girl with the cheeky grin and wicked sense of humour played on the church wall as songs spoke of her Amazing Grace and said I am Beautiful, I’m Loving Angels Instead. The songs also spoke of her parents’ grief through Pink’s Who Knew and Nobody Knows. The pictures showed a girl who loved dressing up, getting into mum’s cosmetics and making herself and younger brother Jaiven ‘beautiful’ and who shared some great times with her loving family and friends.

“Cancer is so limited,” Chaplin Smith said.

“It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope or corrode faith. It cannot invade the soul or erode the spirit.

“It takes great courage to face what this family faced together. It’s almost intolerable. This family did everything they could for Tyla-Rose to live and the last thing they did was to prepare her for her journey to the next life.”

Tyla-Rose’s parents Sharlene and Scott thanked their daughter for “sharing her life, her humour, thoughts and dreams, her bravery and fighting spirit, keeping faith and not feeling sorry for yourself. Thank you for your empathy for others.

“It was your dream to get married to your sweetheart and have three children, open your own hair salon while finding the time to become a dolphin trainer and showing your creative talents through being a tattoo artist.

“We are blessed to have been loved back by such an angel.”

Around six months ago Tyla-Rose lost one of her best friends to cancer, Bessie, whose mother spoke during the funeral and called for applause in appreciation of Tyla-Rose’s strength and spirit.

Former Australian Idol contestant and local Daniel Spillane, who was a star in Tyla-Rose’s eyes, sang Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely – a song he dedicated to her during his time on Idol.

As Tyla-Rose’s coffin, complete with hot pink trim and angel wings, made it’s way from the church, balloons and butterflies were released and mourners formed a guard of honour along Hay Street to farewell the little girl who made so many hearts more generous.