Hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects to John Keegan in an emotional funeral service at the Orange PCYC on Friday morning, the teenager remembered as a fun-loving, mischievous, family-focused young man.
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Family, friends, schoolmates, teachers and teammates flooded into PCYC to reflect, with hundreds more watching on via live stream to help celebrate John's life, which was cut short in a truck-and-car crash two weeks ago.
John was born on September 22, 2005 and was just 15 when he died, with a number of his rugby league and rugby union teammates donning their respective clubs' colours at the service to pay tribute to the footy-mad teenager.
The service was officiated by Reverands Anne and Gary Neville, with John's uncle Ben delivering a poignant and heart-warming eulogy before his siblings Freya, Xanthe, Bonnie, Eva and Beau bravely spoke as well.
John's best friends reflected on their "brother" as well, before a slideshow displayed the young man's zest for life and fun-loving nature, backed by the sounds of Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran.
"I can only imagine what John's reaction would've been to see this amazing congregation here, John loved a gathering," Ben Keegan said.
"John, Johnno, Johnny Boy, Keegs - our son, our brother, our nephew, our cousin, our grandson and our mate. To encapsulate your spirit into words is impossible.
"John loved a practical joke and never thought past the initial laugh, a little boy always up to mischief but somehow so lovable at the same time.
"One of John's most endearing qualities was his willingness to always give everything a go, particularly sport. Of all of John's sporting pursuits his favourite by far was footy, rugby league.
"From under 6s to under 16s, footy was John's focus. He loved his CYMS teammates like brothers and they loved him.
"The one thing he could do better than anyone else in the world was make friends, John genuinely loved people.
"John's ability to be best friends with everyone was second to none (and) he never had a bad word to say about anyone.
"John loved all things family, he was a gentleman in every sense of the word. He loved his sisters, and was the best role model for his little brother Beau.
"I have no doubt John will be resting easy knowing that he was loved unconditionally by so many.
"We all have so many memories of John and we will treasure them forever."
"John, although we weren't blessed with time, we were lucky enough to be blessed with you," Bonnie Keegan said.
"You lived 1,000 lives in one and managed to touch the hearts of everyone you ever met. You were one in a billion and I am so lucky to be able to call you my brother."
"John, you were perfect in my eyes and I could never put into words how highly I thought of you," Xanthe Keegan added, she and Bonnie also spoke on behalf of Beau, Freya and Eva.
"You made sure everyone knew how special they were and that never failed to put a smile on mine, or anyone else's face.
"You were the big brother I never had and I'll forever treasure the advice you gave me, I've learnt so much from you and feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to call you my brother."
The service finished with readings from John's grandparents and a recording from his uncle Mitchell in the United States, who was of course unable to attend but delivered the message "John, you will never be forgotten".
John's wake was held at Endeavour Oval's clubhouse.
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