christian burial

Helen Gault
24th June 2024

Helen, beloved wife of the late William Gault, much loved mother of Heather and David, mother-in-law of Deborah, loving grandmother of Jennifer and partner Ainsley, Rachel and husband Chris, Andrew and wife Bronagh and great grandmother of James, Beth, James, Zach, Georgia and Cooper, passed away in the Mater Hospital, surrounded by her family.  A service of thanksgiving was held in church on Monday 24th June, followed by interment in Carnmoney Main Cemetery.  Helen was one of six children born on 29th December 1932 in Court Street, Belfast.  After leaving the Girls Model, Helen took up employment in the Co-op, firstly at local level and then the main store.  She met and married a childhood friend from the neighbourhood, Billy Gault, in April 1956.  Married in St Mary’s, her home church on the Crumlin Road, Billy and Helen brought up their two children, Heather and David, in their first family home in Elmfield Road. Helen loved to knit, cook and bake; she was famous for her wheaten bread, fruit brack and assorted jams and marmalade.  The children  helping out, in autumn picking blackberries, in summer gooseberries.  They loved away days with the children, and most weekends there would be a trip to Portrush, Castlerock or Newcastle.  Later in their life together they loved to travel with friends and family visiting Reykjavik in Iceland, where they bumped into parishioners Anne and Robert.  Nice in France, where sister May managed to get lost!  Lots of happy memories captured on celluloid by Billy, an ardent and talented photographer.  Helen had a long and happy association with the Parish Church, being an active supporter and helper of many church activities and a loyal member of the Mothers’ Union.  Sadly, in her very early twenties, a great tragedy befell Heather,  and Helen, Billy and David (then eighteen) moved into Heather’s home in Ballyhenry Avenue to look after her, and on occasions their granddaughter Jennifer.  Family life was everything to Helen and Billy and they spent many years happily looking after grandchildren and great-grandchildren, eventually moving to the bungalow on the Antrim Road.  She and Billy shared nearly sixty years together before he passed away in June 2015.  In 2020 Helen herself, in failing health, moved into Glenabbey and spent almost three happy years there.  She loved all the activities and the company and would sing along to the hymns when the parish visited for their monthly service.  Family, friends and faith were everything to Helen, and we commend them all to your support and loving prayers.

Maureen Botha
18th June 2024

Maureen passed away peacefully on the 12th June.  Beloved wife of the late Wally, much loved mother of Anne and mother-in-law of Mike, dearest sister of Fred and sister-in-law of Katherine.  A Service of thanksgiving was held in Newtownabbey Crematorium on Tuesday 18th June, officiated by Rev. Carol Harvey.  Born in December 1927, Maureen was one of six children, brother Fred, the only remaining sibling, now in his 90’s.  Leaving school at   fourteen with secretarial certificates, Maureen’s first job was in the office at the Co-op, her last job was  book-keeper in a Belfast solicitor’s where her skills were highly valued as being on a par with an accountant.  Sadly her first marriage did not last, and not long after Anne was born, her husband went to England to find work and never returned.  It was hard, but with the help of family and friends Maureen got a home together and did a wonderful job parenting Anne.  Emphasising the value of education, she was proud when Anne got her degree in teaching and also a qualification in psychology.  Happily, later in life Maureen found love again and married Wally, a chief catering officer for Shell, working on the tankers.  She travelled with him in married quarters all over the world.  She was a sociable and attractive lady and made many friends,  always ready to listen to the stories of others and to share her stories too.  When Wally retired they took up golf, playing all over Ireland on different courses.  Although a late starter, she won trophies for ladies competitions, which joined the dance trophies on her shelf!  Passionate about  dogs, in later life, she and Anne had many day trips together, taking dogs on beach walks and dining out, trying out different restaurants.  Everywhere she went, Maureen had great conversations with new people and was well known in her own neighbourhood of Merville, walking the dog three times a day, stopping for chats on the way.  Later she took up art, attending a class in Newtownabbey College, and then bridge.  She didn’t stop driving until she was ninety!  In her final years she was able to stay at home with the help of family, carers, and Sharon from the parish.  Sadly a sudden illness in January 2022 left her unable to live alone, and she moved into Jordanstown Care home where she was well looked after until she passed away aged 96.  We thank God for her long life, lived courageously.  We commend her daughter and son-in-law to your thoughts and prayers.

Colin Charles Frederick Larkham
8th June 2024

Colin, beloved husband of Irene, much loved father of Alan, Angela and Sarah, father-in-law of Ciaran, loving grandfather of Sean, Conor, Colm, Sophie, Charlotte and great-grandfather of Connell, died peacefully at home on 5th June.  A service of thanksgiving for his life was held in church, followed by interment in Carnmoney East cemetery.  Born on 22nd April 1937 to Charles and Doris Larkham, Colin was the eldest of two boys, his younger brother Lenny was in attendance at the funeral.  When he was of age, Colin was called up to do his national service where he joined the Military Police.  It was here that he acquired his great love and knowledge of motor vehicles.  He was the proud possessor of an iconic BSA Gold Star racer,  which he only sold in recent years, having refurbished it to near new condition and at last admitting he wouldn’t ride it again.  After National Service Colin joined the firm Blue Circle, a family tradition, and that is how he came to County Antrim - joining Blue Circle in Magheramorne, taking up the position of Senior Works Engineer. It was here he was to meet and marry Irene and they had many happy years together.  Retiring young due to a serious heart condition, Colin would not take retirement lying down, and he remained active working to his own schedule.  Known by many as Mr Fixit, Colin was generous with his time and effort, doing repair jobs on anything electrical for friends and neighbours.  He was great fun, well organised and not frivolous.  He passed on his plumbing and electrical skills to his grandchildren.  Being a war baby, Colin had a great interest and knowledge of the war, especially growing up around London, and as each of his children and grandchildren came along Colin was conscripted into the class room and was a popular visitor telling of his experiences to the children in the local primary schools.  A wonderful scrapbook compiled by his nephew Brian when at school, gives testimony to his life and interests.   An active and integral part of family life, Colin will be much missed by his family and friends, and we commend them to your thoughts and prayers.

Anne Adams
10th May 2024

Anne, wife of the late Colin and mother to Gavin and Julie, passed away unexpectedly in Antrim Area Hospital on Wednesday 1st May. A funeral service was held for her in Carnmoney Parish Church on Friday 10th May, followed by her burial in Carnmoney Cemetery.

Anne was brought up with her younger sister Edith, on Mountcollyer Road, where the family attended St Paul’s Church nearby. During the war she and Edith were evacuated to Guildford in England but returned to Belfast where Anne started at Mountcollyer Grove Primary School when she was six. Soon after, she also joined the junior choir at St Paul’s, even though she couldn’t sing! Jobs were to follow at Northern Publishing Stationary Shop, Cotter’s Kitchen Restaurant and Cyril Lord’s carpet shop before she met Colin at a dance in the Floral Hall. They were married on 17th June 1966, moving up to Glengormley and into a house in Harmin Drive for a few months before moving into their new home on the Mountainvale Road, a place that remained Anne’s home ever since. And in the years that followed, Anne stopped working, becoming a full-time mother as Gavin and then Julie were born, and Anne set about supporting them enjoying her role as a homemaker.

Over the years, she and the family also enjoyed a number of holidays abroad as well as days out in Northern Ireland, and Anne was always the one behind all the organising of such trips. Throughout her life, she enjoyed music and dancing and also shopping trips and will be remembered by everyone as a kind and generous woman who always thought of others.

In 2015, at a time when she herself was ill in hospital, her husband, Colin, died suddenly from a stroke, and Anne had to return to an empty home. She missed him these last nine years but continued to enjoy her shopping trips out with Gavin on a regular basis. Although beginning to fail, her unexpected death is untimely. She will be missed and our prayers are with her family at this sad time.

Jacqueline Crawford-Murray
2nd May 2024

Jacqueline (known as Jackie), wife to Tommy and mother of Marcus, Darren and Stephen, died after a stay in both the Royal and City Hospitals, passing away in the early hours of Thursday 25th April. A funeral service was held for her in Carnmoney Parish Church on Thursday 2nd May, followed by a cremation at Antrim and Newtownabbey Crematorium.

Jackie was the fourth youngest of five children and was brought up in the old schoolhouse at the end of Church Road. Her father Jack being the sexton at Carnmoney, right from an early age, Jackie was involved in helping him out in jobs around the church, which included cleaning, stoking the fire and polishing the silver, ready for Sunday services. She went to school at Glengormley Primary and then Greymount but left at fifteen to join her sister Hennie, working in the hairdressers on Farmley Road in Glengormley. She met and married her first husband, also called Jackie, in 1970, and in the years that followed, their three sons, Marcus, Darren and Stephen, were born. Unfortunately the marriage didn’t last, and Jackie went to live and work in Monkstown, however some time later she met Tommy in Whitehouse Working Men’s Club. They were married in 1997, having moved in to Jackie’s dream house, 6 Lacken Way, a place that she quickly re-designed and made her own.

In the years that followed, she and Tommy enjoyed a number of foreign holidays but were never happier than when they were boating and people watching during their times with the boys on Lough Erne in Fermanagh. Jackie enjoyed a number of hobbies, including knitting and reading and also loved her soaps, and everyone knew not to visit when they were on TV. In her later years, Jackie did experience a number of health issues, including a massive heart attack in 2017 which she surprised everyone by recovering from. However after stays in hospital from Christmas onwards, she finally passed away peacefully surrounded by all her family. Our prayers are with them at this sad time.

Kathleen Morrison
25th April 2024

Kathleen or Kate, devoted wife of over sixty years to Jim and mother to Jacqueline and Jim, died after a short illness in the Mater hospital on 18th April.  A funeral service was held for her at Carnmoney Parish Church on Thursday 25th April followed by a cremation at Antrim and Newtownabbey Crematorium. Kathleen was the oldest of eight children, and although born in Kent, spent most of her childhood between Moira and the lower Shankil Road. She attended Hemsworth Street School before beginning work at Hall’s Brush Factory in Brown’s Square.  She and her husband-to-be Jim met on a blind date, set up by a mutual friend when Kate was only sixteen, and within a year they were married in St Stephen’s Church, their daughter Jacqueline being born a year later.  Six years later their son Jim was born, completing the family.  In 1972 they moved to Glengormley, settling well into their new community, and Kate returned to work once the children were old enough, enjoying jobs in various places.  She loved her home and was gifted in design and wallpapering, and often Jim would return home to find that a room had been redecorated and rearranged.  Kate loved reading and her music, and in later years, she and Jim developed a love for foreign travel, visiting Italy, France and America.  She had found the Covid years very difficult due to suffering with C.O.P.D. and lost a lot of confidence as a result and sadly contracted pneumonia and had a stroke in February which required two stays in hospital where she sadly passed away. Our prayers are with her family at this sad time.

Charles Gracey
13th April 2024

Charles, the middle son of Norma and Charlie and brother to Dana and Marty, passed away unexpectedly after a short illness near his home in Scotland on 14th March.  After his cremation in Scotland, a special Memorial Service was held for him in Carnmoney Parish Church on Saturday 13th April. 

Charles was born in Gardener Rob Hospital and weighed a whopping 13lb 1oz when he was born. He went to Abbots Cross Primary School, Rathcoole Primary and Glengormley High School, but it has to be said he was much more interested in playing out in the countryside than in pursuing his studies! On leaving school he went to work at New Coat Paints in Mallusk, and it was here that he met his wife, Samantha, and they were married in the Parish Church on 25th January 1986; the following years were spent bringing up their three children Julianne, Aaron and Charlie.  Sadly the marriage didn’t last, and he and Samantha separated after eleven years, and seeking a new life, Charlie moved to Liverpool and eventually to Scotland.  During later years he had lost contact with many in his family but still rang his mother Norma regularly and attended her 90th birthday party back in Glengormley. He had complained of feeling ill and had been advised to visit the doctor but sadly never made it, suffering a huge heart attack near his home.  His ashes will be buried at a future date, meanwhile our prayers are with his family at this sad time.

William James Noel Arnott
26th March 2024

Noel, beloved husband of the late Mary, adored father to Noel, Michelle and Denise, much loved father-in-law to Andrea, Peter and Jerry and cherished granda of Michael, Joshua, Katherine, Anna, Nathaniel, Lydia, Martha Rose and Seraphina, died peacefully on 20th March 2024.  A service celebrating his life was held in the church on Tuesday 26th March and afterwards to Newtownabbey Crematorium.

Noel was born on 29th July 1929 in Belfast to Hannah and Robert and spent his early years on and around the Old Lodge and Lower Shankill Roads.  Both his parents had impaired vision. It was a stormy relationship which resulted in Hannah bringing up Noel on her own.  He attended Eglinton Street Primary School and later St Enoch’s PE in Carlisle Circus.  With his mother and a foster brother, Henry, to look out for, Noel took his role very seriously and got work after school to help with the household expenses.  One of his first jobs was collecting wastepaper at five shillings a hundredweight - it was a decent job.  He then worked for the Belfast Telegraph, delivering papers in a horse and cart - feeling like Ben Hur when he got the chance to take the reins.  At sixteen, he was very fortunate to get a job in the shipyard as a trainee welder - the University of Life he called it, with plenty of stories not to be told in this magazine!

After a short stint in Canada, Noel returned home and got involved in the Belfast Newsboys Club, which is where he met his wife to be Mary.  He had to work hard to get his first date, but eventually romance blossomed and they were married on 27th December 1954.  They then went to Canada to live but returned after four years with their two children, Noel and Denise, and another one on the way, Michelle.  They set up home in Rathcoole, then Elmfield Road.  Noel then worked in the Felden Centre where he was the chief instructor, later becoming the recreation officer for all the training centres, a job he really loved.  Talented, yes, Noel was a great raconteur, telling stories and playing the banjo.  And of course he was well known in wrestling circles where he was known as Blackie Arnott - the referees’ nightmare.

Noel worked hard all his life, carried along by his indomitable spirit and sense of humour, providing for and loving his wife and family.  He will be much missed by family and friends, and we commend them to your thoughts and prayers.

Sarah Hamilton (Shirley) Gorman
21st March 2024

Shirley, much loved wife of the late Robert (Bobbie) Gorman and beloved mother of Sandra, Elaine and Brian, died peacefully surrounded by her family on 13th March 2024.  A celebration of her life was held in the church on Thursday 21st March - and then to Newtownabbey Crematorium.

Sarah was the middle of three children.  Jamesey, Sarah and Joan were born in Clanmorris Street, Belfast.  When she was young, Sarah’s angelic face was framed with curls - thus she was nicknamed Shirley (Temple), and she remained Shirley all her days.  After school, Shirley worked in Jennymount Mill as a spinner and stayed there until she got married.  She met Bobbie Gorman in Boneybefore - minding his bike and half crown for him while he went in for a swim.  The rest was history - they had bought their house in Elmwood Crescent the year before they were married and lived there all their lives together - raising the three children.

As the children grew, Shirley went back to work, ending up as head cook in the canteen of a school in Rathcoole.  As well as looking after the family, Shirley was a great knitter and needle woman, and she enjoyed cooking the produce she had grown in the garden - tomatoes, potatoes, rhubarb.  Their family grew over the years - twelve grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren with two more on the way!  Sadly, Bobbie died six years ago, and the shock of his sudden passing affected Shirley greatly.  But she did her best to keep going for her family.

Family was everything to Shirley; she excelled at her role of  wife, mother, granny and great-granny.  All of her children told fond stories of family life.  Camping holidays in England, Scotland and Ireland, holidays in Spain.  Friday nights were a popular gathering night for stew and jelly and ice-cream (three colours of jelly!).  At Christmas, present opening was always done at Elmwood - great-grandchildren telling stories of presents flowing out from the tree to the middle of the room.  Shirley lived a very full and happy life which was family orientated.  She was a person who spent her life caring about and caring for others.  She was kind, generous, loving and the family said, “It was a privilege to call her mother.”  She will be much missed and we commend her family to your thoughts and prayers.

Georgina Harrison
4th March 2024

Georgie, wife of Brendan, mother of Sean and older sister to Patsie, Ellen, Martin and Thomas, passed away unexpectedly in hospital on Wednesday 28th February.  A funeral service was held for her in her home on Monday 4th March, followed by her burial in Carnmoney East Cemetery later that morning.

Originally from Eglinton Street near the Crumlin Road, Georgie was the oldest of five children and adopted that caring and responsible attitude throughout her life.  On leaving Hensworth School at fourteen, she worked in Ewart’s Mill and then at the brush factory in Brown’s Square.  She met the love of her life, Brendan, whilst dancing in the Orpheus, and they were married on 14th February 1970 in St Patrick’s with only two witnesses present.  Their son, Sean, was born the following year, and the family lived in the New Lodge area before buying their family home on the Antrim Road in 1983.  In these years, Georgie worked in the stitching factory before moving into the fruit and veg trade with Brendan, having first a market stall and then a shop.  In 1992 they almost lost their lives when, being opposite the police station on the Antrim Road, their house was badly damaged when a bomb went off, and it was two years before they were able to move back in due to the damage caused.

 In 2014, Georgie was forced to retire due to bad health but was delighted when Sean moved back home to look after her.  In her last years, she enjoyed her music and also spending time with her sisters as well as Brendan and Sean.  She will be sadly missed by all her family, and our prayers are with them all.