The couple who died in the crash on the Barton Highway on Friday were the kindest, most loving parents anybody could wish for, according to their children.
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The family spoke of their grief and of their undying love for Craig and Dianne Perry to The Canberra Times.
They also told of how their mother, who was driving in the fatal collision, hated that stretch of road which is a notorious crash blackspot.
But it's their parents' love which dominates their minds.
"They were high-school sweethearts," Luke Perry said of his mum and dad.
"They would help anybody who needed help. They took the kids around the community here as their own and helped them.
"Some kids were from troubled families and mum would open the door and look after them, and feed them. She was someone they could talk to."
The couple were in their early 50s and had four children: Matthew (34), Samantha (32) and twins, Jennifer and Luke (30). There are nine grandchildren.
Samantha had a baby, Idreius, four weeks ago and her father - and the new baby's grandfather - baked a cake.
"It was a carrot cake with icing - a home-style carrot cake - to celebrate the new addition," Samantha said.
The family were set to hold a reunion on Sunday, and Craig would have baked another birthday cake for another grandson.
"He would always bake cakes on our birthdays so we have good memories. He taught the grandkids how to do scones."
The children couldn't speak more highly of their parents.
"They were loving to us and supportive. Whatever we needed, they were always there for us," Luke said.
"They were such amazing grandparents of nine beautiful grandbabies," Jennifer said.
She lives in Queensland but "no matter how busy they were, they would always find time to answer my kids' calls".
The couple were high-school sweethearts even though they went to different schools.
Craig went to a private school - Mount Carmel in Yass - and Dianne went to Yass High School, but they had teenage eyes for each other.
"Dad used to follow Mum home from school and finally got the courage to talk to her," Samantha said.
"They fell in love."
The couple got married on July 20, 1991. To everyone who knew them, it was obvious their love remained strong until they met their deaths together on the Barton Highway on Friday.
"They were very open with their love for each other. You could enter a room and you could feel their love. They would walk down the street holding hands," Jennifer said.
Apart from being a professional baker, Craig Perry was into breeding birds, an enthusiasm he passed on to his daughter, Jennifer.
The road on which the couple died is notorious for crashes and Dianne Perry, who was driving on Friday, would try to avoid going on it.
"Mum hated that road," Samantha said.
"She would always go the Sutton way but because the bridge was damaged, she had to go that way. But she hated that road with a passion."
A GoFundMe has been started in support of Dianne and Craig's funeral costs.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Sarah Basford Canales
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
I'm a federal politics and public sector reporter with an interest in national security, integrity and regulation. Contact me with general tips and thoughts at sarah.basfordcanales@canberratimes.com.au or confidential tips to sbasfordcanales@protonmail.com.
