THE memory of a much-loved brother and son who died tragically aged 13 lives on – through a sunflower project.

Kelvin Murray-Hill died in a car accident on April 27, 2002 alongside family members Philip and Bob Kennedy.

For 19 years, Kelvin’s family has replanted seeds from the very sunflower he had planted and now, they are looking to share the seeds with the wider community.

“Every time we see sunflowers, it reminds us of our brother”, said Kelvin’s sister Glynis Murray-Hill. “But the more sunflowers that are out there, the more we actually spread his sunflowers, the more warmth it brings to the family and everyone else because they’re continuing the tradition.

“If you lose someone, it’s nice to have a symbol that represents them and gives you an opportunity to still think about them.”

A Facebook group has been set up where people can share their photos and pass seeds on, with Glynis asking for £1 or more to be donated to Hexham Youth Initiative – a service she used as a youngster and has worked with her whole adult life.

She said: “Having support from the community and through youth workers has helped me stay on the right path and I know it helps other young people stay on the right path as well.”

Glynis was just 16 when her brother passed away.

“I’ve got a six-month-year-old daughter Summer now, so I think having her, just makes me think how important life is”, she added.

“It affected us all in different ways – that’s why I aspired to go on to be a youth worker because I know we had such hard times when we were younger that I wanted to be a good role model for the next generations.”

Glynis remembers happy memories of Kelvin. She said: “He was doing what he loved best on the day that he died, he’d been on a fishing trip. Always remember to do something that brings you joy because you don’t know when it’s your time to go. He skived off school to go fishing!

“He did what made him happy – he loved being out, playing outside. He just loved the outdoors, he always had dirty hands and fishing was his main thing. He planted the sunflowers, it was his gift to us.”

More information on the seeds can be found at: ‘Kelvins sunflowers’ on Facebook and via https://www.givey.com/hexhamyouthproject

Hexham Youth Initiative supports over 500 young people a year and has remained active throughout the pandemic.