Mrs Elizabeth Maxwell

MRS Elizabeth Maxwell, of Ballymenagh House, who passed away at Kings Castle Nursing Home, Ardglass, on Wednesday, February 18, in her 81st year, was a gentle lady who displayed the virtues of kindness and courtesy throughout her life.

She spent most of that life in the townland of Ballymenagh, near Downpatrick. The much loved and only daughter of Bertie and Robina Gill, she was reared on the family farm which meant so much to her.

She loved country life, particularly animals, and with the help of her father she had several prize-winning sheep.

Her early childhood was spent during the war years when the nearby Bishopscourt airfield was a hive of activity and her home, Ballymenagh House, also became a home for WAAF service personnel.

Highly intelligent, she was schooled at Ballycruttle and then at Ardglass, but her education suffered as a result of contracting TB, from which she recovered with the help of a new drug.

She met her beloved late husband, Hugh, a member of a well known Downpatrick family, at a Scottish country dance. The couple were married in 1961 and were blessed with two children, Robert and Heather, to whom they were devoted. In later years she took further delight in the arrival of four grandchildren and a great grandchild.

Although she had strong ties with Ballymenagh, Mrs Maxwell had an abiding interest in travel and visited many countries around the world.

She was a great comfort to Hugh in his battle with heart disease and he too supported her in their later years. Her husband’s death was a heavy blow which she bore with her trademark quiet fortitude.

Mrs Maxwell was a warm, welcoming lady who enjoyed company and conversation throughout her life and for whom family values and a strong Christian faith were hugely important.

Dunsford Parish Church, of which she was a lifelong member, was filled to overflowing for the funeral service on Saturday, February 20, which was conducted by Dean Henry Hull and the Rev Graham Savidge.
Interment was in the adjoining churchyard.

The sympathy of the community is extended to her children, daughter-in-law Lynda, son-in-law Gary, grandchildren Gareth, Laura, Jonathan and Rebecca, great grandson Isaac and the family circle.