"She was so supportive and helpful...and was right there when you needed her"

Friday 30 December 2022

The children of a 73-year-old woman who died on Christmas Day - 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” mum and grandmother who had boundless positivity and energy, and 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.

She 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 was 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.

 Pictured: Kathy and her grandson, Thomas.

“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.”

Said Stephen: “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 life-long friend Maggie (forever ‘Auntie Maggie’ to the children) and the pair first worked on the cable cars at Fort Regent.

Pictured: Kathy with her children, Stephen, Karlene and Paul.

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.

Said Karlene: “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.”

Pictured: 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 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.”

Kathy also liked to keep fit and frequently took part in exercise classes at Fort Regent. She also used to walk down to Havre des Pas and often chat over a coffee by the slipway with other regulars there.

She was also a key part of a community of fellow Scots who had moved to the island at a similar time, who had become de facto family members over the years.

Said Karlene: “We would have parties on, for instance, Boxing Day, and everyone always remembers how good it was, and mum would do a nice little buffet. It would just be brilliant fun, and her and dad instilled a desire to have fun in us.

“The families are still good friends now and our kids and now friends with their kids. It is our Jersey family, really. 

“I think she and dad raised us in a really good way. They gave us good values, they instilled honesty in us, and encouraged us to be hardworking, and just to be good people. They gave us that guidance because they had good morals themselves. 

“I would like to think we will pass that on to our kids too; that is a big part of the legacy that she leaves behind.”

Bailiwick Express would like to extend our sincere condolences to Kathy's family and friends, and to thank them for taking part in this tribute. 

Main Picture: Kathy with two of her grandchildren, Thomas and his sister Evie.