Tadcaster produce perfect send off for popular Sonny Lang

The former Tadcaster Grammar School and York College student died on Tuesday, February 9, after suffering with the genetic condition Cystic Fibrosis all her life.

Mourners packed into Bishopthorpe Crematorium for the service before moving on to Tadcaster Magnets Sports and Social Club for a celebration of her ‘short but fun-packed life’.

Sonny’s mother, Anna-Marie Clark described her daughter as a ‘ray of sunshine’ and said that it was perfect that the mourners celebrated a life where she touched so many people.

She said: “From the sun that shined, to the service that our dear friends conducted, to the hundreds and hundreds of people who came to pay their respects and share memories with us.

“A very sad time turned into something that Sonny would have looked down on and been pleased and thankful for and also the kind and wonderful friends that we shared. It was simply perfect’.

Sonny was diagnosed with the genetic condition Cystic Fibrosis when she was 13-months-old with doctors believing that her illness was already ‘beyond redemption’.

Hundreds of tributes immediately began pouring in following news of her death from her closest friends as well as her cherished football club Tadcaster Albion where both she and Anna worked for eight years.

The club led a campaign to name the town’s new footbridge ‘Sonny’s Bridge’ in her memory and have said there will be a memorial garden erected for her at the entrance.

On the day of the funeral, the club posted a video on their Facebook page of hundreds of balloons being released into the air with the caption ‘Fly High Sonny! There’s some party going on in Tad tonight.’

Many of those who attended Sonny’s funerals left messages of comfort and tribute on Anna’s Facebook saying that Sonny had enjoyed a ‘beautiful send off’ and that they felt ‘truly privileged’ to have been there to celebrate her life.