25/04/2025
Marion has left an amazing legacy behind, and I wanted to share just a snapshot of her life - which spanned almost 96 years.
When I met her family, there was the usual feelings of ‘we don’t know what to tell you’, and it’s my job to make them feel at ease, and walk them through the parts of their loved ones lives that are familiar to them, and not to worry about the parts that aren’t.
This time, it was different. Marion’s daughter was flicking through a book, titled ‘My Mother’s Life’, which had handwritten notes, poetry and newspaper clippings from Marion’s life.
Together we read Marion’s own words about how much she loved education, how they cris-crossed the British Isles with her father’s job, and lived through the war. We sat entrance exams with her, faced minor wrongs from teachers (never forgotten), inspired by others that gave her a lifelong passion for painting. We danced with her in a blue ball gown in their local hall, and strolled home along the beach.
Soon, Marion was a young woman in Glasgow, and met her future husband Andy. They had their own adventures before finally settling in Lisburn.
Each chapter and each decade brought her family laughter and tears as they reminisced over stories often told or gasped at new ones they had never heard.
Marion was the type that would send her kids to school in the morning, and by the time they came home she would have their bedroom decorated - with no fuss, she just did it.
She was an active member of her local Art Club, she won many competitions – most recently, when she was 93, with a painting of Rowallane Gardens.
We included poems she had written herself, and of course reflections from those who knew her best - Marion was a stickler for good grammar and phrasing - so the pressure was on to get this one just right.
Of course, it’s not about what we do - it’s how we make people feel - and beyond the milestones, Marion’s son-in-law conveyed the emotion perfectly, summing up with: ‘We are all lucky when we have a good mother. I am especially blessed because I have had two. I will miss her intensely’.
A life well lived, a wonderful send off, and such an impact left on so many.
