FORMER MINISTER RECALLS SINCERE FRIEND'S MEMORY
Former minister recalls sincere friend's memory
By Nevin Farrell
A CLERGYMAN yesterday recalled how tearful Veda Short recently told him 'I'll miss you' as he was installed in a new church.
But Rev Albin Rankin, former minister of Seskinore Presbyterian Church near Omagh, didn't think he would be saying the same thing about the 56-year-old grandmother at her funeral just weeks afterwards.
Rev Rankin returned to the small church, set in the middle of rolling Tyrone countryside, to pay tribute to Mrs Short.
She worked in Watterson's shop in Omagh which was devastated in the weekend explosion. When she left her Gortaclare home on the Ballygawley Road on Saturday morning her children Alison, Frances, Ian, or her grandchildren never once thought she would not return home alive.
Rev Rankin, now based in Co Antrim, told hundreds of mourners - including people who escaped injury in the blast and others from across the community divide - there were few words left to describe the shock and horror.
He said Veda was a "sincere and supportive friend" and a person "who gave so much to so many".
He said her husband William had lost "a caring devoted wife" while her children and grandchildren were robbed of a loving mother and grandmother.
Rev Rankin said Veda played a full and active part in community life, particularly the Seskinore Church.
In the middle of the "confusion, heartache and despair" he added, there was nothing which could break the relationship with God who was with people in "these dark days".
Family members clutched handkerchiefs as they wiped away tears. Relatives and friends comforted them as they sobbed at the grandmother's graveside.
One mourner said "I thought the days of people having to stand around open graves because of the actions of fellow humans had ended but maybe these deaths can be the last".
By Nevin Farrell
A CLERGYMAN yesterday recalled how tearful Veda Short recently told him 'I'll miss you' as he was installed in a new church.
But Rev Albin Rankin, former minister of Seskinore Presbyterian Church near Omagh, didn't think he would be saying the same thing about the 56-year-old grandmother at her funeral just weeks afterwards.
Rev Rankin returned to the small church, set in the middle of rolling Tyrone countryside, to pay tribute to Mrs Short.
She worked in Watterson's shop in Omagh which was devastated in the weekend explosion. When she left her Gortaclare home on the Ballygawley Road on Saturday morning her children Alison, Frances, Ian, or her grandchildren never once thought she would not return home alive.
Rev Rankin, now based in Co Antrim, told hundreds of mourners - including people who escaped injury in the blast and others from across the community divide - there were few words left to describe the shock and horror.
He said Veda was a "sincere and supportive friend" and a person "who gave so much to so many".
He said her husband William had lost "a caring devoted wife" while her children and grandchildren were robbed of a loving mother and grandmother.
Rev Rankin said Veda played a full and active part in community life, particularly the Seskinore Church.
In the middle of the "confusion, heartache and despair" he added, there was nothing which could break the relationship with God who was with people in "these dark days".
Family members clutched handkerchiefs as they wiped away tears. Relatives and friends comforted them as they sobbed at the grandmother's graveside.
One mourner said "I thought the days of people having to stand around open graves because of the actions of fellow humans had ended but maybe these deaths can be the last".
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0114
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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