EVERYWHERE you looked at Carlisle Crematorium you could see purple...

In the main chapel, where every seat was taken, many among the hundreds of mourners wore something purple, the favourite colour of Michelle Murray, who two weeks before she died married her long-term partner Craig Davidson.

There were purple dresses, purple scarves, purple waistcoats, purple jewellery, and even one woman with purple hair. There was a similar scene in the waiting room, which was filled with those mourners unable squeeze into the chapel.

All were there to celebrate the life of Warwick Bridge School teaching assistant Michelle. “Michelle would have been delighted by this sea of purple,” said celebrant Veronika Robinson

For more than 20 minutes, she described why Michelle, who died on September 12, was loved so deeply by those who knew her.

Caring, positive, and creative, Michelle wove herself into the hearts of the people around her with her humour, kindness, warmth, and laughter.

“She brought magnificent colour into this world,” said Ms Robinson. Those who knew her regarded her as “one in a million - a beautiful person, inside and out.” As a happy-go-lucky, chatterbox of a child, she had dreamed of becoming a hairdresser.

She fulfilled that dream.

Later she began her job as a teaching assistant at Warwick Bridge Primary School. “The children simply adored her,” continued Ms Robinson. If they bumped into her outside of school, they excitedly greeted her - proof of her ability to connect with people across generations.

She loved her own children, Sam and Natalie-Anne.

Summing up what made Michelle tick, Ms Robinson said: “Her joy was born of caring for others - of putting others first. She fed tummies as readily as she filled up hearts.” A meticulous planner, she loved Christmas - the twinkling lights, the secret present wrapping, the scent of spice in the air.

Despite her cancer, Michelle, 52, remained positive, declaring: “Life’s the one you’ve got. Live it.”

Ms Robinson said: “For years, she had promised Craig that one day she would marry him. She kept that promise. Michelle didn’t walk down the aisle, or wear a princess dress, but she did fall deeply into her beloved’s heart and married him two weeks ago.”

Among the many tribute messages, written on paper snowflakes, were these: “Always a shining light. Sparkle forever.”

In one last act of kindness, Michelle asked mourners to bring a rucksack filled with stationery so they can be sent to impoverished children in third world countries. Many people did as she wished.