Cameron Dean Croft Tribute Onlinetributes.com.au

To Cameron Croft the glass was always half full.

The Sunshine Coast lost a hard working lovable larrikin when the 21-year-old lost control of his motorcycle and died after hitting a pole on Fred Chaplin Circuit at Meridan Plains just after 5.30pm on Sunday.

Cam had bought the Yamaha R1 motorcycle just one month ago to cut down on petrol costs during his regular runs to Boondall where he played ice hockey with his team, the Buccaneers.

Police believe speed may have been a factor in the crash, which perhaps meant a rare lapse in judgement for the former Beerwah High student who didn’t have a single traffic infringement notice to his name.

His mum, Barbara, remembered a gentle soul who would always go the extra mile for those he loved.

Barbara said he had a quick smile and conversation ready for everyone he came across.

“He was full of life, extremely sociable and had a wicked sense of humour. He loved a laugh,” she said.

Growing up, Cam had a particular way of getting his point across - usually glad wrap over the toilet bowl or a water squirt bottle under the toilet seat.

“You couldn’t help but laugh. Eventually,” his mum said with a smile.

But to those who were less fortunate, Cam had nothing but compassion.

“He always had a lot of time for the under privileged or handicapped,” Barbara said.

“A lot of us can get embarrassed or shy away from talking to someone like that, but he didn’t.

“He would have a chat and he just really understood them.

“We were at the Diamond Valley lodge and there were quite a few handicapped people there and he just got along so well with them. He was a real gentle soul.”

Cam’s gentleness was apparent from an early age from the way he was with animals.

Just like his mum, Cam adored animals and his pet Labrador Bow Wow was his best friend from the time he was two-years-old, until Bow’s death 14 years later.

His girlfriend of three and a half years Chantelle McMullin’s family dog Riley adopted Cam from the moment they met.

Chantelle and Cam had known each other for 10 years and were building a life together in Landsborough, not too far from where Cam grew up with his mum in Mooloolah.

The pair were planning a dream holiday to Canada next year for the Winter Olympics, followed by a trip to cheer on his beloved ice hockey team the Anaheim Ducks.

“He said to me at midnight on New Year’s Eve, 'we are going overseas next year. We can say that now',” Chantelle said.

“He was so excited. I’m going to go and I am going to wear his jersey and cheer as loud as I can for him.”

Chantelle said her final memory of Cam would stay with her forever.

He had been making a cup of noodles before heading out for his ride and tripped over an extension cord causing the kettle to fall, sending hot water all over him.

Instead of getting angry, he shrugged.

“He said, 'well that water is nice and warm.' I said ‘you always find the positive in everything’ and he looked at me and said ‘how else do you live?’.

"He was just like that. That was Cam all over.”