Family and friends plan charity skydive to remember Tunisia terror attack victims

Jordan Lovett is among the family and friends taking part in a charity skydive next month in memory of the victims of the Tunisia terror attack in 2015, during which her sister was tragically killed.

Jordan will take part in memory of her sister Carly Lovett, a University of Lincoln graduate who was among a total of 30 British tourists killed on a beach in Tunisia when terrorists opened fire in the beach resort of Port El Kantaoui.

Carly, 24-year-old fashion blogger and photographer, as well as North Lincolnshire Council worker Claire Windass, lost their lives on that tragic day, which saw a total of 38 people sadly die.

Carly Lovett

Around 350 people attended Carly’s funeral in Gainsborough, with emotional tributes from family and friends. Her fiancé Liam Moore, who had been with Carly for 10-and-a-half years, gave an emotional tribute at the service held in All Saints’ Parish Church in July 2015.

Her sister Jordan will be taking part in a charity skydive, which will be held at Whitchurch Airfield in Shropshire at 8am on Saturday, July 3. Over £27,000 has already been raised – make a donation to the fundraiser here.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The event will mark the sixth anniversary of the tragic events in Tunisia. It has been organised by Suzy Evans from Wednesdbury in aid of the Smile for Joel charity, which she set up in memory of her son Joel, 19, brother Adrian, 44, and father Patrick, 78, who were all killed that day. Smile for Joel was launched to help other families torn apart by murder and violence.

Patrick, Joel and Adrian sadly died in the attack in Tunisia in 2015.

The skydivers on the day will be a mix of family and friends of those lost in the Tunisia attack. Suzy and her younger son Owen Richards, who was just 16 at the time and survived the attack, will be taking part, alongside their cousin Claire Webb.

Suzy said: “I will be nervous on the day, but I am really excited for the event. It’s going to be the first time we have been able to do an event face-to-face for over 18 months.

“It will be really special to see the other families. Some people are travelling quite a distance so it means to a lot to me that they are coming to the event. We didn’t want to do it on the actual anniversary, because people will have their own plans for that day to remember those who died, so we arranged it for a week later.”

Suzy Evans with her sons Joel, who tragically died in the attack, and Owen who survived.

Owen, now 22, said he wanted to do the skydive because it had been on his brother’s bucket list. He said: “He had spoken about wanting to do a skydive and that’s a big part of my motivation for doing this. I’m taking part knowing that Joel wanted to do it.”

They will be joined by Lee Stocker, who will jump in memory of his parents John and Janet Stocker from Morden, South London, and Lewis Burbridge, who is taking part in memory of his grandma Lisa Burbridge from Whickham, Gateshead. Another 32 other friends and supporter will be taking part to ensure each of the 38 victims is represented.

Donate to the skydiving fundraiser here