EULOGY…GENE ALLISON MC KIE…
DELIVERED BY E. BERNARD JOHN
Gene Allison Mc Kie… Born in
It was when I was a youngster, in
fact, at age two (2), that my parents, Errey and Adeline John, and, of course,
the rest of the family, moved from
As neighbours, we lived in an
idyllic compound shared by a doctor, the head teacher, the nurse, the dispenser
and the assistant teacher.
Nurse Mc Kie, or Nennie Stacy as we
called her, took personal care of all the children on the compound by attending
to our cuts and bruises, and attending to fevers, diagnosing chicken pox and
suggesting worm medicine where necessary, and even administering a stitch or
two when our adventures resulted in more serious injury.
We were neighbours for 4 years,
perhaps the best and least complicated four years of our lives - when our
groceries were purchased at Mrs Little's shop in the village. Our vacations were spent capturing tadpoles
and picking plums from the doctor’s plum tree when he was on duty at the clinic
and when his ferocious dog was not in sight.
Gene had a little tricycle that she
shared generously with me. I was one
year older than she was and closer to her in age than my three elder sisters
who were around at the time. In fact,
there were several photographs that her father took of us on this tricycle,
which accentuate the close bond that existed.
I also remember how she treasured her dog – “Rags”.
At her wedding reception (in 1975),
my father who performed duties as master of ceremonies, reflected on those days
– tricycle and all. He indicated then
that he thought that I should have been the groom given our history of closeness. He told the gathering that I was “too slow” –
his words – and therefore didn’t make it with Gene. I know Ken is grateful for this. I am the one who was asked by Gene to be MC
for that wedding, but because I was bit more shy then than I am now my father
performed that role.
Though Gene was really an only
child, for those four years that we spent at Belair she effectively had three
sisters and a brother in Evelyn, Ercelle, Sandra and me - and the bonds forged
then have lasted a life time.
On hearing the news of Gene’s
passing, I e-mailed my sisters to apprise them accordingly. My sister – the one after me, Wendy, who was
born after our family had moved from Belair, and who, therefore, didn’t grow up
with Gene as the rest of us did, responded to me by saying “I really know very
little about Gene, except to say that she was very special to Mummy and so I
always thought of her as a sister. She
was very nice to me – made me feel important.”
And that is the kind of comment we
are all hearing in speaking with those who really know her. Whether they
attended the
While in school, her athletic
prowess also surfaced. One of her
friends says they were in a race together with others, and Gene simply ran away
from the rest of them. At the Girls’
High School she became House and Athletic Captain of Grimble House and saw her
House advance from its usual then cellar position to eventually becoming
Champion House – a feat which many attribute to the quality and tenacity of her
leadership.
Gene was active in Church… This too had a great influence on her life in
the way in which she sought to provide comfort and enrichment to others. I recall that both of us were walked down to
the Belair Gospel Hall for Sunday School on many a Sunday afternoon. The faith that she displayed throughout her
life had its genesis in those early days.
She has left her mark… She left school in
She is described by her parents as
displaying a “stubborn determination to succeed, in every aspect of her
life.” But this must be a manifestation
of the discipline and values which Brother Hugh and Sister Stacy instilled in
her during those early years. To you
both and to Nickie, & Ken and the rest of the family… You should be justly proud of her
achievements, proud of the positive impact that she has left on those with whom
she came into contact, proud that she followed in her parents’ footsteps by in
turn, also producing a talented, caring and charming daughter (Nickie) who is
making a name for herself in California, and seek comfort in the thought that
wherever she is at this time, she is being well taken care of. She deserves no less.
Gene Mc Kie…
May she rest in peace…