HEARTBROKEN FIANCE TALKS OF HIS LAST MOMENTS WITH THE GIRL HE LOVED
Heartbroken fiance talks of his last moments with the girl he loved
THE heartbroken fiance of one of the women killed said that when he said goodnight to his bride-to-be on Friday he did not think it would be the last time he would see her.
Miss Esther Norah Gibson, who lived at Radergan Road, just outside Beragh, was murdered, along with 27 other innocent shoppers passing a Saturday afternoon in Omagh.
Her fiance, Kenneth Hawkes, his eyes red with the many tears he had shed since learning of the news which has ruined his life, said he wished he had been with her.
The couple had planned to get married on Esther's birthday on July 29 next year.
Kenneth said they had made a lot of plans since they got engaged in May and were looking forward to the time when they would have been together as a married couple.
The large Gibson family were devastated by the news that Esther had died.
On Sunday evening some relatives were frantically searching for news at the hospital and leisure centre, hoping that they could hear some good news.
But, like so many other families, they were plunged into grief, as the worst possible news was received.
The 36-year-old Beragh woman had everything to look forward to. She was to bridesmaid at her sister Caroline's wedding, in a few weeks time, and then preparations would start in earnest for her own big day.
She was the eldest of a family of 11, and had four sisters and six brothers, and with her father, William, and mother, Norah, lived on the family farm less than a mile outside Beragh.
Miss Gibson worked at the local clothing company, Desmonds.
On Friday, she and her fiance, who is also 36, went to Ed Winters to have an engagement photograph taken.
Mr. Winters said Esther had a gold locket and she wanted a picture of Kenneth in it, and after he had cut around the picture and placed it in the locket he said to her: "Now you will always have him with you."
He said she clutched the locket in her hand and smiled.
On Friday night the couple had gone to the cinema.
"That was the last time I saw her after I left her home and we said good night. I never thought it would be our final time together," Kenneth said.
Her funeral takes place this afternoon (Thursday) to Sixmilecross Free Presbyterian Church, when the DUP leader, Rev. Ian Paisley, and Rev. William McCrea, will take part in the service.
THE heartbroken fiance of one of the women killed said that when he said goodnight to his bride-to-be on Friday he did not think it would be the last time he would see her.
Miss Esther Norah Gibson, who lived at Radergan Road, just outside Beragh, was murdered, along with 27 other innocent shoppers passing a Saturday afternoon in Omagh.
Her fiance, Kenneth Hawkes, his eyes red with the many tears he had shed since learning of the news which has ruined his life, said he wished he had been with her.
The couple had planned to get married on Esther's birthday on July 29 next year.
Kenneth said they had made a lot of plans since they got engaged in May and were looking forward to the time when they would have been together as a married couple.
The large Gibson family were devastated by the news that Esther had died.
On Sunday evening some relatives were frantically searching for news at the hospital and leisure centre, hoping that they could hear some good news.
But, like so many other families, they were plunged into grief, as the worst possible news was received.
The 36-year-old Beragh woman had everything to look forward to. She was to bridesmaid at her sister Caroline's wedding, in a few weeks time, and then preparations would start in earnest for her own big day.
She was the eldest of a family of 11, and had four sisters and six brothers, and with her father, William, and mother, Norah, lived on the family farm less than a mile outside Beragh.
Miss Gibson worked at the local clothing company, Desmonds.
On Friday, she and her fiance, who is also 36, went to Ed Winters to have an engagement photograph taken.
Mr. Winters said Esther had a gold locket and she wanted a picture of Kenneth in it, and after he had cut around the picture and placed it in the locket he said to her: "Now you will always have him with you."
He said she clutched the locket in her hand and smiled.
On Friday night the couple had gone to the cinema.
"That was the last time I saw her after I left her home and we said good night. I never thought it would be our final time together," Kenneth said.
Her funeral takes place this afternoon (Thursday) to Sixmilecross Free Presbyterian Church, when the DUP leader, Rev. Ian Paisley, and Rev. William McCrea, will take part in the service.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0037
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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