Northern Ireland woman who died at the age of 106 only ate ‘food that came out of the ground’

Ethel Barbour died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Cornfield Care Centre, Limavady.

Her death was not related to coronavirus, though her funeral will be restricted due to lockdown measures.

Her son Robert put her long life down to a natural lifestyle.

He said: “She was very much into just plain, natural, farm-grown food. She wouldn’t take processed foods, everything had to come out of the ground.

“She wouldn’t take much medication. She had a very natural lifestyle and a zest for life.”

Born Ethel Donaldson on July 11, 1913, she was one of a very small number of people in the Province to have been born before the outbreak of World War One.

Raised on a small farm in the Largy area of the Roe Valley, Ethel was a twin and one of seven siblings in total.

She went on to marry Willie John Barbour and have three children – David, Robert and Miriam.

Her husband became a local government councillor and was awarded an MBE for his services.

Ethel served for a time in the hospital reserve corps in addition to her role as a full-time mother and housewife.

Robert said: “She’ll be remembered as a strong person. Very dedicated in her Christian work.

“She had a very strong role to play in the family when my father lost his sight in his 40s.

“She was a great homekeeper. She never had a television. She was a great reader.”

Ethel was known for always having her Bible and a copy of the News Letter to hand.

Robert said: “Everybody who knew her had respect for her and called her a holy woman. She did walk the talk.”

Of his mother’s passing, Robert, who is CE of Centre For Competitiveness in Belfast, said: “She reached a brave age, she’d have been 107 on July 11.

“She had a little bit of Alzheimer’s, not a lot. The last few weeks we’d been working on Facetime. She’d recognise us, we could have happy, short conversations. The last time we spoke was on Sunday.

“My sister was allowed to go and see her, fully suited up, the evening before she died.

“I got a call at around three in the morning to say the Queen of Cornfield had just passed away – that’s what they called her.

“Myself and my brother and sister went over (on Tuesday morning) and said our goodbyes.”

Ethel’s funeral takes place at 11am on Thursday.

Robert said: “With Covid-19 it makes all the funeral arrangements quite difficult.

“There can be 10 of us maximum.”