Christine’s art will be a tribute to her life

THE family of a young woman who died in her sleep in her Edinburgh home are still waiting to learn the cause of her death.

Keen artist Christine Grieve, 23, who was said to have rarely been ill, did not smoke and rarely drank, passed away suddenly last month. She was found by her flatmate.

The cause of her death has still not been established but as her family mourns, they are making plans to ensure they fulfil her dream of having her work exhibited.

Christine, who had a passion for art and spent her spare time sketching and drawing, grew up in Elgin before moving to Edinburgh to study product design at Napier University.

Her mother, Joanna, said Christine had struggled to get a job after finishing her studies and was working at the Sykes call centre in the Capital, where she was an administrator.

Joanna is now planning a special tribute to her daughter to recognise her talent for art and hopes to stage exhibitions.

She said: “Christine was extremely talented and was very passionate about her art. In her spare time, this was all she did.

“She loved it and hoped one day it would go on display or she could sell it. We have lots of her work and it is very detailed and creative.”

She also told how Christine “loved living in Edinburgh”.

“She made some really great friends. She really enjoyed studying and was so happy when she graduated last year. We were all very proud of her.

“Christine never smoked and only ever had a drink on occasion. She was very active and loved gymnastics as a little girl.

“She tried everything growing up from skating to snowboarding.

“About three months ago, she had a chest infection and the doctors were worried she might have had a clot in her lungs, so she came home.

“But it was a chest infection which developed in to pneumonia. She was given antibiotics and was completely fine after a few days.”

Joanna kept in regular contact with Christine and spoke to her three days before her death when she said she had a cold and was not feeling too good.

She said: “Her flatmate, Nicola, then told me Christine had called in sick to work on the Monday.

“On the Tuesday, Nicola said she couldn’t hear Christine’s alarm so went to see if she was up. She said she looked just like she was sleeping, but as she got closer she knew something wasn’t right and dialled 999.”

She added: “We don’t know what the cause was, but it could have been adult sudden death syndrome.

“She has left so many beautiful drawings. It was her goal to have these displayed.”

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