Friday, September 9, 2022
Margaret Mathers was not only my aunt but a second mother to me.
I spent countless school holidays and weekends in the Mathers home and was always welcomed as one of the clan. The welcome extended to my friends who always remarked what a kind and welcoming couple Margaret and Frank were.
Aunty Margaret looked after me as a small child when my mother was incapacitated, in spite of the fact that she had three other children under the age of five and was expecting her fourth.
My mother used to relate the story of when Margaret and her friend were leaving England for their adventure in Australia. Her mother’s parting words to her traveling companion were “don’t you go falling in love with an Australian and leaving Margaret to fend for herself”. We all thankfully know how that advise was reversed.
Margaret leaves a great legacy not only with her children, grand children and great grand children but the wider community. She was truly a great matriarch. A kind and compassionate woman who we had the privilege to know and love.
Rest in Peace Aunty Margaret.
