Sunday 10 September 2017

Marjory MacKellar



“You should join the writers’ group,” I told Marjory as she lay prone in her hospital bed.
     It had been touch and go, a broken neck after a major car crash and weeks spent in the Spinal Injuries Unit then at the home of her daughter-in-law’s parents where she was to receive proper nursing care. But now it looked as though this pussycat had several lives still to enjoy!
     I recalled the letter Marjory had sent her colleagues at St Columba’s school, a vivid description of her visit to the jungles of Borneo and an encounter with a baby Orangutan. “You’re a super writer,” I told her. “And it would give you something to do.”
     Little was I to know that joining Erskine Writers would lead to a completely new career for Marjory, as she relished researching and writing articles about Scotland for the US publication, The Highlander magazine. Not just that but Marjory made a host of new friends and enjoyed everything about the group.
Christmas saw her bring her melt-in-the- mouth mince pies and coconut tarts to our annual “Mince pies and manuscripts” session and she always contributed a massive fresh fruit salad at the garden party each May, an occasion she thoroughly enjoyed.
     The SAW conference was a highlight of her year and we were all thrilled when she won the scholarship, gaining a free place (and our admiration) on that particular occasion.
     Over the years we have been friends (almost 28) Marjory and I had lots of fun together. We shared a love of football and tennis as well as books, writing and travelling and loved to have a good old gossip about international tennis players (she adored Nadal!)
     Family meant most to Marjory and her frequent trips down south and to Mallorca gave her real joy. Although I only met them occasionally, I took a genuine interest in the grandchildren and their progress over the years and enjoyed meeting up whenever the parties in Riverside took place.
     Marjory was a good sport and encouraged me such a lot in my own writing career, even allowing me to use her flat in a scene from one of my Lorimer novels. When I undertook a “Riverman” walk with members of the public, Marjory’s was the final destination and she proudly offered coffee and scones for all of the readers. I was glad that I had used her name for a minor character in my latest book, Still Dark. That made us both smile.
     Over the past year it has been sad to see deterioration in Marjory’s health and it was not too big a surprise when she was admitted to hospital at the end of April. She had come through so much: major surgery, painful fractures and more recently a series of falls. But this was the indomitable Marjory MacKellar whose own mother had lived almost to her hundredth birthday. Surely she would defeat the odds yet again? Sadly it was not to be and on Monday May 1st she passed away surrounded by her beloved family.
     I will miss Marjory as much as any one of my own family, she was so dear to me. And she will be a very sad loss to everyone at Erskine Writers. Our deepest sympathies are with Douglas, Marg, Gordon, Lorna, Helen and Tony and all their children as well as her brothers, Wallace and James.

Sandra McGruther

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