Tributes have been paid to a kind and loving mum who "would have gone to the ends of the earth for anyone" and whose "smile lit up a room".
Kelly Newell, 35, died on Sunday after a period of poor health which saw her admitted to hospital in March after contracting pneumonia.
The Carrickfergus mum-of-one had previously been diagnosed with cancer and had been in remission after "ringing the bell" in December 2021. She started to feel unwell again in December last year and spent time in ICU twice before she died.
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Tributes have been pouring in for the popular car enthusiast who friend Robert Acheson, 33, said was "always smiling".
"There are so many words to describe Kelly, she was a lovely person and would have done anything for anybody, she would have gone out of her way to help," said Robert, whose partner Stacey has been close friends with Kelly since they were teenagers and were each other's wing women.
"She would have gone to the ends of the earth for anyone, even a friend of a friend, she would have gone to pick them up, she would have gone and got people bits from the shop if they weren't feeling well.
"The list just goes on, I am not joking, she was the kindest hearted girl you would ever have met. Her smile lit up a room, she was always smiling, even when things were bad she was always smiling."
Robert is now organising a car cruise in memory of Kelly, who was known as Kelz or Mamma Bear to friends, which will take place on May 14 from Carrick Castle car park to Portrush, which was one of Kelly's favourite drives. People are meeting at 10am and leaving at 11am.
"Her thing was always, 'Keep her lit', that is why I have it on all the stickers for the cruise," said Robert.
"She would never have seen you down, she would have tried to cheer you up in some way. She loved her daughter and loved my wee girl too, she knew my wee girl from when she was born and she called her Auntie Kelly and she was like her niece. Kelly's nickname for my wee girl was Elbert as her name is Ellie, that was her name for her.
"She took so many people on, it's unreal, I can't believe she is actually gone."
Robert said family, including Kelly's mum and sister Emma, and friends, including Kelly's close pals Amy and Stephen Cheshire who were a big part of Kelly's daughter's life, have been overwhelmed by the support from the community and further afield since Kelly died and thanked all of those who have been in touch.
He has also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Kelly's daughter Mia, who is eight.
Talking about Kelly's relationship with her daughter, Robert said: "She was glued to her, she is the double of her, she is just her side kick, her wee mini me.
"Kelly would have done anything for her daughter to get her what she wanted so this is the reason we wanted to do it."
He added: "She supported everybody and was nice to everybody. I only wanted to do this out of respect for Kelly and show Mia how well known and loved her mum was."
Kelly's funeral will take place on Friday, April 28, at 2pm at Holy Trinity Church in Carrickfergus and out to Victoria Cemetery. Her wake will be at Carrickfergus Cricket Club.
To find out more about the GoFundMe fundraising, click here.
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