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Little Sophie Willox, 5, to be remembered at service of thanksgiving

Sophie Willox
Sophie Willox

A service of thanksgiving is to be held for the life of a five-year-old girl who died in her sleep.

Sophie Willox will be remembered at Craigiebuckler Church on January 5 at 12.30pm.

Her family described her as “the happiest girl in the world”.

She is survived by her father Russell, mother Kate and seven-year-old brother Milo, who stay in the Mannofield area of Aberdeen.

All are welcome to join the service, although Sophie’s funeral will be private.

Those who attend the church are being invited to make donations to Hazlewood School in Aberdeen, where Sophie had been a pupil for just a few months.

Earlier, Mr Willox spoke of his pride in his daughter, who was born with a number of disabilities but who had been making good progress before her death on December 5.

He tragically discovered Sophie in her bed the morning after tucking her in at the end of “just a normal day.”

A post-mortem was held to establish the cause of death.

Mr Willox, an IT analyst at offshore firm ConocoPhillips, said: “She was the happiest little girl in the world. She brought us so much joy.”

Mr Willox also said he was a “better person” for having Sophie as his daughter.

He said: “We are a lot more patient and understanding of things, and that is because of our daughter. I am incredibly proud of her and everything she achieved.

“We have been blessed to have her for five-and-a-half years, but our loss is heartbreaking.

“I don’t think she ever got into trouble, it was impossible. She would break things that were 100 years old and family heirlooms. But all we could say was ‘oh Sophie’.”

Sophie had made great progress at Hazlehood School, with her walking particularly improved in recent months.

A spokeswoman for the school said: “Sophie Willox was a lovely little girl, she was always very happy and she loved coming to school.

“In the short time she attended Hazlewood School she made super progress with learning to walk and to ride her trike. She took everything in her stride and especially loved music and the interactive whiteboard activities.

“Sophie made a big impact in the few short months she shared with us. We have some lovely memories of her and we will miss her enormously. Our thoughts are very much with her family at this sad time.”

Mr Willox urged those who wished to support the family to help the school in its bid to raise £20,000 to buy iPads for pupils.

Mr Willox said: “We don’t really need gifts or flowers at this time. It would mean a lot more if other kids could benefit the way that Sophie was going to benefit at the school.”