R.I.P. Carrie Rigby Toner 29th September 1936 to 3rd November 2025

 You do get some tough years and two bereavements in one year is enough to qualify. There have been some very good things this year too but they sit in the shadow of loss. My mum passed away, just worn out late one wet November night. We look back on a very full and rich life and remember her.

Carrie’s 21^st Birthday

Andrew Robertson

 

Each birthday is a little rung

On the ladder you must climb,

On this one – number 21

You’ve reached a height sublime.

 

Your Girlhood you have left behind

To Womanhood you’ve come,

Dame Fortune keep you e’er in mind

Throughout the years to come.

 

Should troubles grip you in their vice

Or problems make you sad,

Don’t hesitate to seek advice

From dear old Mum and Dad.

 

Be ever righteous in your ways

Your thoughts be good and true,

May friends surround you all your days

– this is our wish for you.

Mum and Dad. 

(Love and all good wishes to our baby on her 21^st Birthday – xxx.)

Carrie

The strong, guiding voice of our childhood:

Gentle - with germoline -  when the ground proved too hard

And rough for young knees and elbows;

Generous and laughing on birthdays and Christmases;

Quiet and wise during the difficult times;

Always there when most needed.

Liberating her boys

With lessons in sewing and baking -

Knitting and crochet, alas, a bridge too far.

Books and films shared, the sci fi queen;

Meals out and holidays, a small, dapper, active woman,

Always her very own person.

Entertainer of grandchildren,

A double act with dear Peter

As in all things –

He her only love and faithful sidekick,

Taken cruelly and far too soon.

In later years, an independent lady,

Still always for family and friends.

Guild trips with Jean, sisters together,

Crossing the country, high on tablet

And good company.

Celebrant of grandchildren’s triumphs,

Their joys hers,

And still strong and determined

Even as the light began to fade

And illness took hold -

Refusing to be diminished,

Her mind still strong,

Her heels dug in hard

Against the cold shove of fate.

Wearying at last, however,

The struggle just too much,

She passed quietly on a rainy Monday evening,

Leaving us for now,

But reuniting with Peter and many others,

The old guard moving on

From a world with too many troubles.

                                                                                 Paul Toner, 2025