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EXCLUSIVE Hardworking Aussie dad is found dead after failing to arrive for his mother's funeral Young father went missing the morning of his mum's funeral It's believed he was in a 'freak accident' READ MORE: A GoFundMe has been started to help his family By Lisa Edser For Daily Mail Australia Published: 00:12, 22 October 2024 | Updated: 00:39, 22 October 2024 e-mail View comments A young father has died in a freak accident while taking a bushwalk to clear his mind ahead of his mother's funeral. Jeffrey Norris, 38, had travelled from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast to arrange the funeral for his mother Jenny last Wednesday. On the morning of the ceremony, he went for a bushwalk seeking some quiet time but had a fall and suffered fatal injuries.
'I called him in the morning, and he was fine,' his partner Brooke Stone explained. 'Then he's gone for a bushwalk and slid. He's just fallen because it was wet.
'It looks like a stick went straight through into the main artery in his leg. 'He had some head injuries too, we're still waiting for the coroner to get back to us, but I'm pretty sure he would have died instantly.' Ms Stone only knew something was wrong when he did not arrive at his mother's funeral.
'He would never not turn up. It didn't make sense why he wasn't there,' she said. Jeffrey Norris (pictured left with his son Lucky and partner of six years Brooke Stone) had gone bushwalking in an area he knew well on the morning of his mother's funeral to 'clear his head' but was accidentally killed 'He just never came back.
' At the funeral, guests were asking Ms Stone where Mr Norris was, and as time passed without any sign or contact, her concern grew. 'I thought "this isn’t right. I don’t know where he is, I can’t find him",' she said.
'We filed a police missing persons report and they ended up finding his body only on Saturday.' The young family had moved from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay and had a 'beautiful life' (pictured Lucky, 2, Ms Stone and Mr Norris) Read More BREAKING NEWS Tragedy as Aussie dad dies while on dream cruise ship holiday with his family The former Coolangatta juice bar owner leaves behind his son Lucky, who recently turned two. 'He loved us.
He would never have wanted to leave us,' she said. Fighting back tears, Ms Stone said her partner, who was a surf coach and a pro-surfer at one stage, had been looking forward to riding waves with his son. 'His biggest dream was to make Lucky a surfer,' she said.
'That was going to be his passion with Lucky and he always used to say: 'When Lucky gets to six or five you’re never going to see us, we’re going to be surfing together'. The young dad was happy when his son was born so he could teach him to surf (pictured Mr Norris and his two-year-old son Lucky) The one-time professional surfer (pictured) was also a surfing coach and couldn't wait to hit the waves with his son Ms Stone said she is worried about how her son will deal with growing up without his dad, but she will encourage him to surf to maintain their connection. 'Jeffrey's got some boards at home - I’m going to keep them for Lucky and we’ll do him proud one day,' she said.
Ms Stone said the couple were close and had experienced tragedy early in their relationship. ‘We lost our first baby together a few years ago,' she said. 'We’ve just been through so much together.
I just never thought this would happen. The young dad (pictured right) was described as a supportive friend, who seemed to know 'everyone' Mr Norris had travelled back to where he grew up on the Gold Coast to plan his mother's funeral. The two were very close and on the morning of the funeral Mr Norris went bushwalking to 'clear his mind' (pictured Mr Norris with his beloved mother, Jenny Norris, 75) 'I’m definitely in shock, it just doesn’t seem real yet.
'We had a beautiful life.' Mr Norris, who was the main bread-winner for his young family, was described by Ms Stone as 'rare', 'loving' and 'genuine'. 'We pretty much haven’t left each other’s side since we’ve been together,' she said.
'Ask anyone who knows him, he was that guy who would do anything for anyone. 'That’s what breaks my heart. He was just a rare kind.
'Anyone who needed someone in their life to support them, he would be that person.' A GoFundMe has been started to help Ms Stone and Lucky with living expenses, rent and possibly a future relocation - as well as funeral costs. Byron Bay Share or comment on this article: Hardworking Aussie dad is found dead after failing to arrive for his mother's funeral e-mail Add comment.
