Tributes paid to Eleanor McCrum

Eleanor McCrum was just weeks away from her seventy-fourth birthday when she passed away peacefully at her Loughbrickland home surrounded by family last week.

The mother-of-five died on Tuesday October 9 at her Greenan Road home in the presence of her husband William, sons Junior, Derick and Mark and daughter Joan.

The couple were left devastated by their young son Alan’s murder in an IRA car bomb in 1982. He was aged just 11.

Eleanor, known locally as Ella, and her beloved husband William earlier this year celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a family party at the house.

Paying tribute, son and local councillor Junior McCrum said his parents, who have eight grandchildren, had effectively “spent a lifetime together”.

Mrs McCrum’s funeral at Banbridge Baptist Church on Saturday saw a great crowd gather for the service, officiated by former minister ST Carson, Pastor Crawford and Pastor Wilson.

Many people attended the wake following Mrs McCrum’s passing, and Junior said it had been a comfort to the family.

“It was nice to see people coming along to pay their respects,” he said.

Recalling the times spent with his mother, Junior said he has memories he will never forget.

“My mother was a friend to everybody,” he said. “I take comfort now in knowing she is present with the Lord.

“A mother is someone you look to for advice, and to lose a mother is to lose someone very special in your life.”

Junior expressed his family’s gratitude to all those who had helped his mother during a short illness.

“I would like to thank the carers and hospital staff who gave her great care in recent times.”