A heroic police officer who drowned while trying to save a woman from a whirlpool in the Blue Mountains has been awarded the state’s highest bravery medal at her emotional funeral. Senior Constable Kelly Foster was remembered on Thursday as a “one of a kind” daughter and sister who loved the outdoors and had a smile that lit up the room. Speaking on behalf of the family at the Lithgow Uniting Church, her sister Leigh thanked the community for its “outpouring of grief” since the loss of the beloved 39-year-old. Constable Foster and the other woman, student Jennifer Qi, who also drowned, were members of a canyoning tour group on the Wollangambe River that day. The off-duty officer attempted to rescue the woman but was also tipped into the water. Both women were sucked into a whirlpool and their bodies were recovered by police divers the following day. Those close to the beloved cop embraced each other at the Lithgow church, which heard of a proud and dedicated police officer who was a loving sister, daughter, partner and friend.