Marco Grippeling, based in Melbourne

The wife and family of Melbourne-based cyber security specialist Marco Grippeling have told of their complete devastation at his death aboard the ill-fated flight.

Mr Grippeling, 48, is believed to have spent some of his last days with friends and family in his home country of the Netherlands before boarding Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17.

His wife had been holidaying with him but reportedly returned to Australia on an earlier flight.

"Marco's wife, family and friends both in Australia and Holland are completely devastated by their loss,” a family member told Fairfax Media. “They ask for respect and privacy during this very difficult time."

Friends back in Europe took to social media to express their shock.  “Unreal and hard,” one woman wrote in Dutch.

“A dear friend lost. Some have seen him this week and said goodbye before he went back home in Melbourne again.”

Another friend wrote of talking, laughing and reminiscing with Mr Grippeling on Tuesday. "I ended Tuesday with goodbye to you not knowing that it would be the last goodbye," she wrote in Dutch.  "Marco, I'm going to miss you."

“Sterke” and "onbegrijpelijk" responded several friends, which translates to “strength” and "incomprehensible" in English.

"I can only think of his parents, his sister and his wife Angela. What an intense grief they have now," the friend wrote.

"It's too bizarre for words," another friends wrote on social media.  "We lose a top guy who was loved by many."

Mr Grippeling worked in the IT sector for nearly twenty years, where he specialised in cyber security and identifying state sponsored and organised crime threats, most recently for mining giant Rio Tinto.

Last year Mr Grippeling helped raise more than $5000 for mens health in the Movember challenge.

Elaine Teoh, Melbourne

Anyone looking at Elaine Teoh’s social media profiles would agree she was a “beauty with brains”. The Malaysian-born, Melbourne resident was not only beautiful, but kind, loving and a dedicated worker. She was also young and in love.

As the world struggles to accept the deaths of the 298 people who were flying on the MH17 flight shot down over Ukraine,  Australians and Malaysians alike are mourning the the death of the gentle 27-year-old who made Melbourne her home.

In 2008, Ms Teoh graduated from the University of Melbourne with a bachelor of commerce, in 2008, majoring in finance and accounting.

Two years later, she began working at IG Australia as a finance assistant before being promoted to the position of finance supervisor in June 2013.

It is also where she met her boyfriend, Emiel Mahler, a Dutch national who had previously lived and worked in London. Like Ms Teoh, Mr Mahler was one of the MH17 passengers.

As the oldest of four children - she had one brother and two sisters - Ms Teoh was part of a close-knit family. Her brother, David Teoh Qi-en, a freelance motivational speaker, asked friends to pray for the family while they attempted to come to terms with Ms Teoh’s death.

“I urge my friends to remain wise and calm when talking about it, and also keep my family and I in prayer as we are going through these tough times,” he posted on Facebook.

“Your prayers and thoughtfulness will be very much appreciated.”

In Malaysia, Ms Teoh attended Kolej Universiti Taylor’s for one year. Before that, she went to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Subang Utama (SMKSU), a secondary school based in Subang Jaya.

By all accounts, she was a popular and friendly student, with high school friends describing her as a girl with a “splendid and bubbly personality”.

A former classmate remembered Ms Teoh as a “beauty with brains”, who “always excelled in everything she did”.

“It’s terrible when life is cut short for a person with so much to live for,” she told the Malaysian newspaper, The Rakyat Post, on Friday.

“In your time here, you brought happiness and joy to many people, and that is a true blessing. Rest in peace.”

Emiel Mahler, Melbourne

Emiel Mahler loved to travel. Born in a small village in the Netherlands called Damwald, the Liverpool soccer fan and brother of two was a seasoned traveller by the time he turned 27.

Even a cursory glance at his LinkedIn and Facebook profiles reveals a person who, despite staying put in Australia for four years, could not shake the travel bug, a fact reflected in the tributes pouring in from friends dispersed across the globe

They wrote about a genuine, fun-loving man whose sense of adventure led him to jump countries in Europe, eventually ending up on Australia's shores. One friend recalled a time when he and Mr Mahler "had a crack at living in a Swiss cottage", while another reminisced about a wild South African tip where they drank "sooo many Springboks" as while Mr Mahler made her "laugh every day".

The globetrotter also made friends in Sweden and Britain the United Kingdom, where, in between graduating from the University of Reading in the UK and obtaining an investment manager certificate, he played soccer for a small team in Clerkenwell, London.

Despite his love of adventure, Mr Mahler's LinkedIn profile shows a dedicated and driven man who was committed to his work in the financial sector. As someone who spoke four languages - English and Dutch fluently, German and French at a professional level - Mr Mahler's choice to work for global companies such as IPD Global Intel displayed a passion for travel rivalled only by his passion for finance.

In 2010, Mr Mahler began working for IG Australia, where he met his girlfriend, another passenger on the MH17 flight, Elaine Teoh. In December, he left the company to be a foreign exchange trader at Vanguard Australia.

Francesca 'Frankie' Davison, Mt Eliza

Driven by an "enduring passon" for arts and literature, Frankie Davison was a much-loved high school teacher on the Mornington Peninsula for almost three decades.

The 54-year-old has been fondly remembered by the heartbroken community at Toorak College in Mt Eliza, which opened its chapel and offered counselling support services to students and families on Saturday.

"Frankie was an inspiration to us," principal Helen Carmody said. "She was a warm, caring and loving person. She was loved so much by the students."

Ms Davison, 54, taught English, history and other humanities subjects for 28 years, and had also become the year 8 co-ordinator. She was married to award-winning Australian author Liam Davison in Mt Eliza, and had two children aged in their 20s - Milly and Sam.

Milly also attended Toorak College, where she was Head Girl and graduated in 2009. "There is an enormous connection between the family and Toorak College as there is between the family and the Mornington Peninsula," Ms Carmody said.

College graduate Jessica Lee said Ms Davidson was an "incredible teacher", who had "such  a positive impact on so, so many lives".

Liam Davison, Mt Eliza

Almost every Saturday for 15 years, author Liam Davison (pictured above with wife Frankie) clipped into his pedals and started the weekend with his mates.

The group of 50 keen cyclists would greet the sunrise with a 35-kilometre loop across the Mornington Peninsula, and enjoy a coffee together afterwards.

A sombre minute's silence marked the start of this weekend's ride in honour of Mr Davidson - the award-winning Australian writer who many of the riders remembered as a gentleman.

"He was just so well-respected ... a gentle, supportive type of guy," club president Bruce Trew said. "It's hard to believe it could be someone you know."

Two of Mr Davison's books, Soundings and The White Woman were shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award and The Age Book of the Year Award. Soundings won a National Book Council Bajo Award for Fiction in 1993.

Fairfax Media television reviewer Ben Pobjie, who was taught by Mr Davison at the Chisholm TAFE Institute in Frankston, said the writer  was "universally liked".

"He was a really great writer in his own right and it was a privilege to be in his classes," he said.

Mr Davison lived with his wife, Frankie, in Mt Eliza. They had two children, Milly and Sam.

Mary and Gerry Menke, Mallacoota

Two weeks ago was Gerry Menke's 70th birthday. He and his wife, Mary, were returning to Australia from south-western France after celebrating the milestone with their extended family and close friends.

"They will be sorely missed," their family said. "We take comfort in the fact they were together and that's how they would have wanted it to be."

Gerardus - better known as Gerry - migrated to Australia from Holland as a young teenager in 1958. He lived in the small East Gippsland town of Mallacoota, where he worked as an abalone diver and set up a fishermen's co-op, employing many locals. He has been credited as an industry pioneer.

In his later years he moved into aquaculture and established a pearl business. The Menke family has remembered Gerry as a "great family man" with a dry sense of humour and someone who enjoyed life to the fullest.

Wife Mary, 65, arrived in Australia from New Zealand when she was in her 20s. She had set out to travel, but one of her first stops was Mallacoota and she never left. She married Gerry in 1972 and they had four children.

Mary was a talented piano player, taught music at the local high school, and supported Gerry's business ventures. "She was a larger-than-life character ... warm, creative and generous," the Menke family said.

Eastern Zone Abalone Industry Association chief executive Geoff Ellis said Mr Menke and his wife were dedicated to their family, community and the abalone industry.

"They sacrificed higher prices achievable in Melbourne markets to ensure the viability of 'our Mallacoota factory'. It is in no small part as a result of Gerry and Mary's commitment to the local processing factory that it has remained viable, and now thriving."

The Menkes are survived by their four children - Sara, Brett, Anna and Paul - and five grandsons.

Itamar Avnon

Itamar Avnon, a Dutch national,  had been visiting family in Amsterdam after attending a wedding in Israel.

Friend Raph Freedman, who served with Mr Avnon in the Israel Defence Forces from 2007-2010, said the former paratrooper was returning to Melbourne to resume his business studies at Swinburne University.

‘‘After the army, I came back to Australia and he went back to Holland, he was in Israel a little bit and then decided to come and live in Australia to study.

‘‘He’d been here for two years. He was really happy studying here and living here and we’ve got a nice group of friends.

‘‘I think his intention was to stay in Australia."

Mr Freedman said his friends learned of Mr Avnon’s death after receiving a phone call on Friday.

‘‘It’s just shocking,’’ Mr Freedman said.

‘‘It’s one of those situations where you can’t be prepared for it.

‘‘It’s a sad loss for my friends and I, but we are dealing with it as best we can and it will only make us stronger and closer as friends to remember and celebrate his life.

‘‘He was a beautiful person in that he was able to really light up a room.

‘‘Everybody loved him. It was very easy to love Itamar.’’

Albert Rizk, Sunbury

Sunbury real estate agent Albert Rizk touched many lives through his work, but will also be remembered as a community leader, a devoted father, and a friend.

Mr Rizk and wife Maree were tragically taken from their two adult children, Vanessa and James, while trying to get home from a month-long European holiday on flight MH17.

The window of the Raine and Horne office in Sunbury, of which Mr Rizk had been a director, was filled with flowers and messages of grief for a valued community member on Saturday.

“We not only lost our boss, we lost a very dear friend of ours,” staff had written.“We miss you both so much.”  A photograph of Mr Rizk had printed over the top of it: “Always in our heart.”

Mr Rizk was heavily involved with his son James’ football clubs, the Sunbury Kangaroos where he played throughout his childhood, and more recently, the Ballarat Football League’s Sunbury Football Club. He was also a committee member for the Ballarat Football League.

Sunbury Kangaroos president Alan Walters on Saturday held a minute's silence to honour the couple’s contribution to the community, saying their loss had affected many.

"There is a lot of people here today that have known Albert,” he said. “It's going to affect a lot of people in a lot of different ways and it's just an absolute tragedy the way they were taken from us."

A handwritten sign leaning against a promotional picture of Mr Rizk in the Raine and Horne Sunbury shop front simply stated: "There are no words, only whys."

Maree Rizk, Sunbury

Maree Rizk was the sort of mum who danced at parties and helped out at the canteen for her childrens’ sporting clubs.

She and husband Albert had been holidaying with another couple from their large social circle for a month before boarding the ill-fated flight trip home.

They had unsuccessfully tried to change to the earlier Malaysia Airlines flight their friends had caught home, but were unable to change the booking, friends believe.

Mick Streiff, a close family friend who met the couple through their sons’ junior football club, the Sunbury Kangaroos, said: “They helped out everywhere they could”.

While Albert used his business to sponsor junior football it was Maree who would be helping out in the canteen on a Saturday morning, he said.

"They were a huge part of the community," he said. "We'd have weekends away together with all our friends and we were just all very tight so it was a shock to us all."

Mr Streiff had seen the couple at a friend's friends’ 50th birthday shortly before they left for the trip.

"They were really looking forward to the trip to Europe, it's just very sad it has to end like that,” he said.  "You hear it on the news and you don't think it's them."

"They just loved to party and have a good time, that was just them, they were vibrant people."

Gary and Mona Lee

A retired Chinatown restaurateur and his schoolteacher wife from Glen Iris have been confirmed among the victims.

Gary (Why Keong) Lee and Mona Lee (nee Yeoh) had been on a long cruise and European holiday.

Mrs Lee, an avid supporter of Essendon Football Club, had been looking forward to coming home.

Her husband planned to spend another week with family in Malaysia.

In a statement, the family said since Mr Lee retired two years ago, the couple had enjoyed many travels around the world.

‘‘They were returning from a six week cruise and holiday with close friends in Europe, and had an enjoyable time.

‘‘Mrs Lee was due to return on the connecting flight to Melbourne, and the last message received from her before she boarded at Amsterdam was that she was really looking forward to returning home after a long trip.’’

The couple moved from Malaysia to Melbourne to study in the mid-1970s.

They are survived by two daughters who are doctors working in Melbourne hospitals.