Lisburn community comes together to celebrate the life of a woman with no known relatives
Some 100 people of all ages, from schoolchildren to pensioners, gathered on Tuesday April 21 at Ronnie Thompson’s Funeral Church to celebrate the life of Margaret (Peggy) Murdoch.
The funeral church was filled with people, some who knew Peggy and some who had never met her, after funeral directors Ronnie Thompsons put out a social media appeal in an attempt to find her family.
The lady, who resided at Lisadian House Nursing Home, Hillsborough had no known family when she passed away in hospital.
She was known to have lived in El Shammah Nursing Home Lisburn, Wilson Street Lisburn, and Seacash Walk Antrim.
Unfortunately the funeral director was unable to trace any of her relatives.
However, the Lisburn community came together to ensure that she would not be alone as she made her final journey.
Following the appeal on Facebook many people pledged to attend the funeral.
Celebrant Roisin McFadden conducted the funeral, with Piper Mark Smyth, harpist and singer Clara Wilson, and organist Vivian McCullough providing music.
Following the funeral, Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors thanked everyone who attended and offered their services to ensure that Peggy’s life was celebrated to the fullest.
Posting on their Facebook page, the Lisburn funeral directors wrote: “We gathered for a woman we did not fully know, whose days passed quietly, beyond the edges of our noticing. And yet she was here.
"She woke to mornings, walked through seasons, felt the warmth of sun on her face, and the weight of harder days. She carried her own thoughts, her own memories, her own small amounts of joy or sorrow, a whole world within her, as real and as deep as any other.
"Though no family stood beside her, she was not without witness. We were there. Not because we knew her well, but because every life deserves to be marked, to be honoured, to be gently laid to rest with care.
“A special word of thanks to Celebrant Roisin McFadden for conducting the Celebration of Peggy’s Life.
"Thanks to the Staff of Lisadian Nursing Home and El Shammah Nursing Home for their unfailing care and attention.
“A special thanks to Clara Wilson for the beautifully uplifting music, to Vivian McCullough for accompanying music on the organ and to Piper Mark Smyth for leading Peggy on her final journey.
“Thanks to Ivor Kelly for speaking on behalf of the community and lending those beautifully crafted feline sculptures.
"To those who provided the flowers, thank you, they were a beautiful addition to the service.
“To the pupils of various school across our city who not only attended the funeral but added to the service and then carried Margaret away from our premises.
"It was so lovely to watch the next generation from both sides of our community with their arms around each others shoulders carrying Peggy along the Ballinderry Road. You have made us, your schools and this city very proud.
“To all those who attended, your shared sense of kindness, humanity and community is something you should take immense pride in, the City of Lisburn is a better place when people like you step forward for a stranger.”