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A beautiful wife and mother
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| DAVID AND MARY MARRIED 11th OCTOBER 1969 IN SURREY. |
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| Mary and Raymond. |
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| Mary and Roderick |
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| Mary and Roderick in Brussels 1972 |
Obituary in Mayo News posted by Michael Sargent,
Marys' brother in law.
The death has occurred in York, England, of Mary Battisby-Dutton at the age of 59, following a long illness. Mary was born in Westport
on 8th December 1944, the second daughter of Freddy Clarke (Dugort, Achill)
and Ada Fair, sister of the late Albert Panny) Fair, of Deerpark
East, Westport. After the death of her mother in 1947, Mary continued to live with her father in Westport. In 1952 she moved
to England and was brought up, together with their three children, by her half sister Marion, who died
in 1987, and her husband Raymond Gill, a native of Westport, who has also recently died in England.
Mary attended Holy Trinity School in Westport, and was fondly remembered by her teacher, the late Mrs. Henderson, who
would always ask after her when she met family members on holiday in Mayo.
After growing up in Surrey Mary trained as a nurse at St. Helier Hospital, Carshalton,
Surrey, and worked at various hospitals in the London
area before marrying her husband, David, from Aberdeen, who worked
for the British Foreign Office. Accompanying David on his foreign postings, she lived in Brussels, New
Delhi, Geneva, Lagos, and Wellington, New Zealand. She had two children, Roderick and Fiona. After Davids retirement from the Foreign Office,
Mary and David moved to Yorkshire. When she could, Mary continued her work as a nurse, her final job being
in a care home in Bedale, Yorkshire.
The
care she gave to others was returned to her in abundance during the final stages of her illness when she was a patient in
St. Leonards Hospice, York. The nursing care was exemplary, and her daughter Fiona was able to move to York to provide extra support for her at the end. She died at 1.30 in the morning on 19th February, in the presence
of David, Fiona, and her sister Brigid.
Perhaps there are
readers of the Mayo News who will remember the little girl walking down to school from Peter Street to the Newport Road, with her striking head of auburn hair, and wonder what became of her. Mary had a kind and generous nature, soft
warm voice, and tendency to get the giggles.
She
is deeply mourned by her devoted husband David, children Roderick and Fiona, grandchildren Ciarán and Declan, sister Brigid,
Gill relatives Sally, Patrick and Marion, the Clarke family, and Maureen Fair and her daughters.
May she rest in peace, and
rise in glory
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