Members of the community came together for a Fun Day in support of the family of Nicole Parfitt whose life was tragically taken along with her two young children in July.

The children of Bright Beginnings Nursery and Preschool in Pembroke, where Ms Parfitt worked as a teacher and where her son attended, played on water slides and bouncy castles for the event that was made possible through community funding.

Money was raised for the family through a pot luck event in July with the help of Bright Beginnings and Taste the Rainbow restaurant. Part of the proceeds contributed to the Fun Day, some went to Bright Beginnings, and some went to Paget Primary School, where Ms Parfitt’s daughter attended.

A GoFundMe page was also launched by Parfitt family member Lindsay Simmons, a government senator, which covered the burials and funeral costs.

Ms Parfitt, 39, was found dead in an apartment in South Terrace, Pembroke along with her son Na-Vii Parfitt-Trimm, 4, and daughter Drae-E Trimm-Parfitt, 9. Ramon Trimm, 40 was also found dead in the apartment.

Family members of Ms Parfitt were present at the Fun Day including her sister, Shanika, and mother Carol.

Shanika Parfitt said the support from the community has been instrumental in helping her family deal with the pain of losing their loved ones.

She said: “This is what has brought us through — the community support. Bright Beginnings is one institution, Paget Primary has supported us, the entire community has supported us.

“There was also a GoFundMe which gave us sufficient funds to bury everybody so we decided to not have any of this fundraiser attached to what we needed to do before. That was very much covered, so we wanted to give our proceeds back.

“This event is very important to me because it’s a way for us to ensure that we are giving back when so much was given to us … prayers, support, kind words, the comforting — that is the only way we got through this. It is the community, the people, the generosity, the sincerity.”

Shanika Parfitt described her sister, who was a deputy and a teacher to toddlers at Bright Beginnings, as “thoughtful and kind”.

She added: “At the end of the day, my sister represented love. She cared for others, she went out of her way to do whatever was needed for whoever she was dealing with. This whole day represents that.”

Nicole and Shanika’s mother, Carol, thanked all the member of the community helping her family.

Maria Bean, head teacher at Bright Beginnings, said the Parfitt family were considered as family by the nursery.

Renée Gilbert, deputy head teacher at Bright Beginnings, added: “Nicole was very pleasant, it was a pleasure to work with her. She is a great miss and it has been a struggle for some of us coming into the school.

“As a friend, I could talk to her about anything. I have known her since my oldest daughter was 3 years old. About three years ago, she came and worked here and she just fit right in with everyone. She gave a nickname to everybody.

“The children are making out OK; at first they were looking at the pictures, trying to make sense of it. Gina Spence came in and talked to the older children. There was an illustration about flowers, what they looked like and, when the wind blows, who is missing. It was appropriate for their age.

“The staff had separate counselling. The staff didn’t want to go back to work at first. Now we are trying to check our own emotions and put our best foot forward.”

Sharde Hassell-Johnson, who owns Taste the Rainbow with her husband, Jervan Johnson, said: “We just wanted to help out in any way we could.”