A HEARTFELT tribute to a Denbighshire teenager has been unveiled.
More than 100 people gathered on Saturday evening to remember Olivia Alkir, of Efenechtyd, who tragically died aged 17 following a road traffic collision in 2019.
A service of dedication was held at the church of St Michael and All Angels in Efenechtyd for the unveiling of the Olivia Window.
Made of stained glass, this memorial to Olivia replaces one of the existing plain glass church windows at the church from the Victorian era.
Olivia, a deputy head girl at Ruthin's Ysgol Brynhyfryd and the only daughter of Jo and Mesut Alkir, tragically died following a car crash on the B5105 in June 2019.
Mr and Mrs Alkir decided they wanted to pay tribute to their daughter by establishing a memorial to her in Efenechtyd.
A simple plaque on the wall of the village church where Olivia is buried was considered, however it was at a visit to the church by the St Asaph Diocese Archdeacon with his team that the idea was casually mentioned about having a specially-made stained glass window as a memorial to Olivia.
The idea caught on and Mr and Mrs Alkir started considering the various options for the design.
The concept quickly emerged for using Olivia’s school artwork depicting a scene from Efenechtyd of a country lane around the church.
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Recclesia, of Chester, took up the challenge and a quotation of £15,000 was supplied.
Within a week of receiving the quote, and undaunted by the amount, Mr and Mrs Alkir started a range of fundraising activities.
Donations started flowing in from the local community, schools, and a host of other sources including local businesses.
A number of physical fundraising activities were considered by the local community. One notable event at the end of April was the Big Walk undertaken by Dave and Rachel Davies.
At 72 miles, the walk from Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula back to Efenechtyd took the gallant duo less than 24 hours and raised £3,500 in the process.
As the fundraising target for the window had been reached by April, the proceeds went to the Air Ambulance.
A church faculty had to be obtained from the Church in Wales to allow the window to be replaced.
This application was submitted using concept designs from Recclesia in late January and by the end of March, it was enthusiastically granted.
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At Saturday's service of dedication in the church, Mr and Mrs Alkir unveiled the Olivia Window to a delighted audience that filled the church to capacity.
Mrs Alkir said: "We had a lovely dedication ceremony on Saturday.
"Olivia is probably one of very few people in the world to have their own artwork in their own memorial, which makes her window even more special in its own right.
"We are delighted with the window and look forward to everyone coming to see it.
"I'm very proud of our community."
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