FOR those who knew Maree Hutt, Abba’s Dancing Queen was a fitting farewell tribute.
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The iconic song was played at her funeral last Thursday and epitomiseda woman who loved her family, friends, dancing and living life to the full.
Yesterday, her husband Mick recalled a special wife and mother who would have been amazed that nearly 1000 people attended her farewell at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat.
“She just made people feel so good and special,” Mick said.
“She would just ask questions about them and she was genuinely interested in everyone.
“She was popular, but she never sought to be popular. She never did things for recognition, that’s just the way she was.”
Maree’s funeral included a police escort across Sturt Street, and the Sebastopol Football Netball Club released 45 purple balloons last Saturday during a minute’s silence for one of its favourite daughters.
“Maree would have smiled at stopping both Sturt Street traffic and a football game,” Mick said.
“You read or see big funerals for people in positions and people go because it’s the right thing to do, but it was family and friends who brought Maree’s numbers.”
Mick said despite her diagnosis of cancer two-and-a-half years ago, Maree didn’t have a bucket list.
“She just wanted to watch the kids play their sports and go camping with friends. She didn’t want to fly off overseas.
“Maree never saw it as inevitable. She had a positive attitude throughout, which was amazing.”
Mick said his and Maree’s three children Toby, 16, Ben, 13 and Libby, nine, had received amazing support from family and friends, including the Sebastopol Football Netball Club and the Lumen Christi and St Patrick’s College school communities.
Maree and Mick moved to Ballarat from Cobden in 1991, with Maree becoming a well-known pharmacy assistant at Crawford’s Chemist for nearly 20 years.
“She was a fantastic worker. She had a great work ethic.
“She was worried about getting a job, but she had four offers in the
first few days of taking her resume around.”
Mick said Maree was a fantastic mother and was always interested in other people’s children.
“The only other thing she ever wanted to do was to be a kindergarten teacher.”
Maree was also a good netballer, playing in Sebastopol’s 1993 premiership and in Skipton’s winning 2001 team.
After her diagnosis, the Sebastopol club gathered together to build one of Maree’s greatest wishes – an outdoor entertaining area for her husband and kids to enjoy.
Maree’s Relay for Life team this year also had 180 members, one of the biggest ever.
“She was inspirational to a lot of people. Her courage was amazing.
And people gave her hope right throughout her cancer journey.”