Heartbreaking: Melissa and Darren Russell's lives changed for ever when they lost their daughter Montana in a tragic car accident.
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Simon Ruppert
Father’s Day this year will be one of the most difficult days the Russells have ever had to experience.
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Not only was it the day Darren loved to spend with his kids, it was his daughter Montana Russell’s birthday.
Born in Benalla on September 3, 2007, this year she would have turned 16, and was looking forward to starting driving lessons.
On June 28, the family had their lives changed for ever when their confident, outgoing, daughter lost her life in a tragic car accident.
Montana was only 15.
Her mum Melissa, dad Russell and five siblings could not believe they had seen her smiling face for the last time.
On Friday, July 7, she was laid to rest in a touching ceremony at Benalla cemetery with all of her friends and family in attendance.
While doing their best to keep going, the Russells want Montana to be remembered as the fun-loving, confident teenager the whole family adored.
“She hated wearing dresses,” Melissa said.
“I used to be able to get her into a dress when she was little, but that didn’t last long.
“When she was young she worried I’d try and dress her in pink.
“But her colours were blue and purple.”
Melissa said you’d be unlikely to find her in a dress, and she was always in shorts and a T-shirt.
Always smiling: Montana Russell.
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“She was a real daddy’s girl,” Melissa said.
“Darren drives trucks and would get home at 4am and would have only been asleep for a couple of hours and she’d go in there and tickle his feet to wake him up.
“And she loved the truck. She’d sit on her dad’s lap and help him start it up.
“At a very young age she’d hear dad come home and she’d be out the front door and straight up into the truck looking for the lollies he brought home, and the chocolate and soft drinks.
“She knew exactly where it was all hidden.”
One of Montana’s favourite things was to go to work with her dad.
“She came to work with me one night when I was driving a milk tanker, carting out of the Riverina,” Darren said.
“She loved it. She even rang her mum at about 3am to tell her how much fun she was having.”
Melissa said while she loved the enthusiasm, it was a shock to be answering the phone at that time of day.
“She said, ‘what are you doing, Mum?’ I said, ‘I’m sleeping, what about you?’ ‘I’m in the truck, waiting for Dad to finish’, she told me excitedly,” Melissa said.
“She loved life and lived it to the fullest. She was full of confidence. She’d have a go at anything.
“She loved her family. She was very popular and made lots of friends easily.”
A keen Collingwood fan, Montana loved the outdoors and one of her favourite family activities was going camping.
“We went camping once near Casey’s Weir with her and her sister Katelyn. Melissa and Katelyn came back home. But Montana wanted to stay,” Darren said.
“And she loved going to the beach. She was a real beach girl.”
Loved the outdoors: Montana Russell was a big Magpies fan.
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The second youngest of five siblings, Montana was more than capable of standing up for herself in an argument with her brothers and sisters — which Darren said could happen from time to time.
“She liked to try and get one over on the older ones,” he said.
The majority of Montana’s schooling was in Benalla. She attended Primary School on Waller St, then Benalla P-12 College on Faithfull St.
She also went to Wangaratta District Specialist School.
Darren said she took after him and preferred to be doing practical things rather than having her head stuck in a book.
“She was going really well at school,” he said.
“When she was younger she liked to do athletics. We have a couple of certificates she got for the high jump,” he said.
Melissa said Montana was strong-willed, knew what she liked and did what she wanted.
“Even as a little girl, she’d get the deadlock open and take off with the dog up the road to visit her friends,” she said.
“She loved her dogs. She used to put our Chihuahua in a pram — she’d go for a walk around the court pushing the pram.
“The only person the dog would let do that was Montana.
“And she loved babies. If any visited she was the first to want to pick them up.
“She had a mother’s instinct in her. She loved her siblings. She loved her nieces.
“She liked being in a big family.”
Melissa said Father’s Day would be difficult this year.
“She would have been 16,” she said.
“I think we’re going to fly to Tassie in the afternoon that day to go and see some family.
“But we’ll be here in the morning to go and see Montana for her birthday.”
With the tragedy only happening last month, the Russells are still trying to adapt to life without Montana.
“We’re getting there slowly,” Melissa said.
“We’re taking it day by day and making sure the other kids are getting all the support they need.
“It’s been hard on her siblings. So we’re focused on making sure they’re all looked after.
“They’re missing her a lot.
“We want to say, on behalf of our family, thank you to everyone who has been there for us.
“Thank you to the first responders, and the police for all their support. They’ve done lots to help.
“And NJ Todd Funeral Directors, they were awesome, thank you to them.”
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