THE children of a 73-year-old who died on Christmas Day – becoming the tenth Islander to lose their life as a result of the Haut du Mont explosion – have paid tribute to their ‘loving’, ‘kind’, ‘generous’ and ‘humble’ mother.
Stephen, Paul and Karlene McGinness said that Kathleen – known as Kathy, but also Granny or Gaga – was the ‘perfect’ mother and grandmother and had boundless positivity and energy plus a great sense of fun.
She was committed to her family, they said, instilling in them a strong set of values, and, when the next generation arrived, showing an enthusiastic zest for life when playing with her six grandchildren.
Kathy was also a proud Scot, a committed Christian, a dedicated and organised employee, a reliable friend and a generous host.
‘She was so loving, so caring and so kind,’ said Karlene, whose 17-month-old son Albie is Kathy’s youngest grandchild.
‘She was completely family orientated – family was the most important thing to her. She was so supportive and helpful to us and was right there by your side when you needed her.
‘When she was playing with the kids, she would be lying on the floor with them, properly engrossed in them. Whatever the kids wanted to do, she would get stuck in, whether that be cops and robbers, hide and seek… it didn’t matter.
‘When we were growing up, she gave us the same energy and attention. We had a really happy childhood. When I think back to birthdays and Christmases, she made everything so special for us. It was so important to her to make us feel happy.’
Kathy lived in an adjacent block to the Andium-run flats on Pier Road which collapsed on 10 December and had been in hospital since the explosion.
Stephen added: ‘From childhood, I just remember the love Mum gave us, and her doing anything for us; she was the perfect Mum.
‘We used to live by the FB Fields and Paul and I used to go to there after school and come home head-to-toe in mud. Mum would come to the door: “Right, your clothes off” she’d say. “Put them in the washing machine, get in the shower, get your pyjamas on, and come back down to have your dinner”.
‘Nothing was too much for her. You just took it all for granted as a kid.’
Paul added: ‘She knew we were enjoying ourselves, then, there was no judgment or anything like that. She was happy to let us go out and have fun.
‘She would do anything for us; she would never judge. Her family was the most important thing for her and us being happy was her goal in life.’
Karlene said her mum had been born in the tenements of Glasgow, and came to the Island – like many of her compatriots – in the late 70s, to find work, adventure and fun. She arrived with her lifelong friend Maggie – known as Auntie Maggie to the children – and the pair first worked on the cable cars at Fort Regent.
In meeting fellow Scot Hugh – known to everyone as Shug – she also found love. A well-known and popular taxi driver, Shug passed away in 2008.
Kathy’s modest upbringing not only imbued a lifelong sense of humility but also a lack of interest in material possessions.
‘She wasn’t materialistic at all,’ said Stephen. ‘She would never go off and buy anything expensive; she didn’t care about that at all.’
Karlene added: ‘We just remember happiness and having fun as children, we would always be down the beach. In hindsight, I have so much respect for the fact that she had three children under three and did such an amazing job of it. I would say, a big part of her purpose in life was raising us.’
After raising her children until retirement, Kathy worked at Highlands College as an administrator.
‘She was a very, very organised and reliable person,’ said Karlene. ‘I have always thought to myself, she would be an administrator I would want on my team. You would ask her once to do something and she would get it done. She was so reliable and organised.
‘One of my friends laughed the other day, saying “you always used to see her around town with her cardboard list of things she needed to buy, and she would be on a mission here, there and everywhere around town”.
‘That was her organisation, and determination, just making things happen.’
Kathy was a devout Catholic who attended Mass every week and instilled in her family a strong sense of right and wrong. She also volunteered at the shop next to St Thomas’s Church.
‘Her faith was a real foundation for her,’ said Karlene. ‘Being so focused on her faith, and all the good things that come with that, meant that she was just very humble, kind, generous and forgiving.’
