It’s difficult to imagine the world without Jude Zietara, who died suddenly on the 3rd of April 2026. He was a blaze of light, a comet in the night sky, a magical creature, an original thinker and bursting with creative potential. He was only 24 when he left us.
I want to use this space to share my happy memories of Jude.
I was trying to think of my first memory of Jude. For almost a quarter of a century he’s always been around, but when did I first see him? I don’t remember. I said this to Kim, Jude’s father, my brother, who said: “I do. I remember him being born. I was there.” Both Kim and Nyk, his mother, gave him a lifetime of love and support. They gave their all. My mother, Jude’s grandmother, was also a source of unconditional love for Jude and it was at her home in Traquair, the Scottish Borders, that we all used to meet up.
For me, grief isn’t a series of five logical steps. It’s a process of confusion and it raises impossible questions (why did this happen?) and it also brings along its hideous bedfellow: Guilt (I should have visited him and his mother more!) The temptation is to hunker down, to burrow under the blankets, to wallow in sadness and guilt and regret–but no, I’m moving on from all that and focusing on the happy memories, and we should celebrate him.
I want to share my memories of Jude through a few photos:
This is the most magical photo I’ve ever taken and I promise you it has not been altered or edited in any way. I still look at it in wonder. How was it possible that the child on the swing fitted so perfectly into Jude’s gesture? I have no idea. Maybe we need a mystic to explain. But what was he doing? you might be wondering. The photo was taken at Kim’s wedding to Fi Morris in 2014 and he was passing the ring to our cousin Anne Goring. It was part of the celebrant-led ceremony. Looking at this photo now, 12 years later, after Jude’s passing, it tells me that there was something magical about Jude, something about him that was always beyond my understanding.
I have scores of photos of Jude on my laptop but this one jumped out at me as his face is obscured by light. I’ve never actually noticed this photo before and I don’t know who took it. It reminds me of one of those images of the gods with a halo of light around their face. Jude wasn’t a religious person as far as I remember (correct me if I’m wrong in the comments below) but this image makes me think that he was a comet that blazed through our lives. In the photo you can see Jude’s cousins–all of whom he loved fiercely–from the left you have Caleb, Alec, Nikita, Aidan and Lara.
This photo needs to follow the one above as it shows Jude in all his majesty–he’s the third one from the left in case you didn’t know him–and it’s no surprise that he was listed as an “actor and performer” on the casting agency Star Now. My late mother would have said “he’s a handsome devil!” You might be wondering what Jude and his cousins were doing in this line up? We were gathered at my parents house for a birthday party and they were putting on a spontaneous show–a sketch–and it was hilarious. From the left you can see Jude’s cousins Aidan, Nikita, the great man himself, Caleb, Nathan and Luca.
In this photo you can see Jude in his adult prime, on the left, with his cousin Lara (my beloved daughter) and his uncle Calum Goring. We were at the wake, in Traquair village (Scottish Borders) after my father’s funeral.
Finally, I’d like to share this image of Jude doing what he loved most–playing. Here he is shooting down a hill above his grandparents house in Traquair, in the Scottish Borders–the region in which he spent most of his life in.
If you have any happy memories of Jude Zietara–however long, short, silly or sad–feel free to share them below.
Jude Alexi Zietara: born on the 12th of November 2001; died on the 3rd of April 2026.
Funeral service details: 13:00 on 24th April at Roucan Loch Crematorium, Roucan Rd, Collin, Dumfries, DG1 3QE.
Jude Zietara (2001–2026) | Obituary & Tribute
- Happy Memories of Jude Zietara - April 13, 2026
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All in all, I didn’t really know Jude—we met once, at the birthday party of Lily, my brother Luke’s daughter—but to this day I remember his radiant, smiling face framed by black curls, happily enjoying a slice of cake… as if it were yesterday… He left us far too soon… my heartfelt condolences for your entire Family…