Tributes to animal lover Elisa Peat, 31

A close-knit Teesdale community has been left shocked and devastated by the death of a young woman in the prime of her life.

Elisa Peat, from Whorlton, died aged 31 last month following a collision in North Yorkshire.

Her grieving husband Josh has paid tribute to his wife’s remarkable drive, determination and simple joy for life.

The couple were married at St Mary’s Church, in Whorlton, last September and were living their dream lives in the picturesque village.

“Our loss is enormously painful and incomprehensible but it’s secondary to the loss of the incredible life Elisa had built and had ahead of her,” Josh said.

“I know she touched so many people in Teesdale. Elisa always had a smile on her face and always made people feel better.”

Elisa hailed from a military background. Her father, Adrian Hargreaves, was in the Army and met his wife Manuela while living in Germany.

Because her parents were constantly on the move due to Adrian’s career, it was decided Elisa would benefit from the stability of going to school in England and from the age of eight she boarded at Queen Mary’s, near Topcliffe, in North Yorkshire.

She excelled at school and studied French and German at Bristol University before gaining a Masters in real estate at Reading University.

Her career went from strength to strength and Elisa spent the last four years as a sales executive for American software company Certinia, which had an office in Harrogate.

“She had drive and determination and she was excelling in her job,” said Josh, who is a senior estates manager with Northumbria Water.

“She was getting awards for her sales numbers, things like that, and she was set up with her dream home, her forever home, her dream life, and it’s all just cruelly been snatched away.

Elisa was an animal lover with a passion for horses.

“She loved animals and had all these chickens and dogs and cats, but the horses were her absolute passion,” said Josh.

“All the way from being a young girl she mucked out military stables for a whole week for 20 quid! Her dream was to have a horse of her own and when she moved up here she was finally able to.

“Through a connection from a racing yard she rescued a horse from Dubai.

“She just decided to take it on and arranged for it to be flown over here and then driven all the way up to Raygill Farm Livery, at Lartington.

“It arrived at 11pm on a cold April night and got the shock of its life! She rehabilitated him and got him to be almost a happy hacker.”

After being put in touch with each other through a mutual friend, the early weeks of Josh and Elisa’s courtship had to be conducted via social media due to covid lockdowns.

Once restrictions were lifted, they were finally able to meet in person and immediately hit it off.

Elisa moved into Josh’s home at North View, Barnard Castle, before the couple found their “dream home” in Whorlton.

Both were soon extremely active members of the community, making a big impact on village life.

Elisa was a driving force behind the campaign to save the village pub, helping raise pledges worth more than £200,000, and was a keen supporter of Whorlton Village Hall Association.

“Elisa really found her home here after moving around so much,” said Josh, who was raised in Boldron and attended Barnard Castle School.

Elisa was driving to work on the morning of Tuesday, May 26, when her Land-Rover Discovery collided with an HGV on the A61 near Ripon.

She was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance but died on May 28 surrounded by Josh, her parents and younger sister Faye.

“The Yorkshire Air Ambulance provided such good care for her and at Leeds General Infirmary she got the best care possible,” said Josh. “We were with her, by her bedside the whole time.”

A private cremation for Elisa will take place on Thursday, July 2, followed by funeral service at St Mary’s Church, Whorlton, on Friday, July 3, at 3pm.

“Anybody who knew Elisa is welcome to come to the funeral service,” said Josh.

“We’ve got people coming from Germany, Ireland, from all over, she touched so many lives.”

Mourners should note that it will be family flowers only and donations in memory of Elisa will be shared between the church and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.