Tributes paid to Shankill bomb widow Elsie Frizzell - ‘a truly remarkable woman’

Mrs Frizzell’s husband Desmond and daughter Sharon were murdered in the 1993 Shankill bomb.

Nine people were killed in the 1993 attack as well as one of the IRA bombers, Thomas Begley - and more than 50 people were injured.

A post on WAVE Trauma Centre Facebook page pays tribute to ‘a dear friend Elsie Frizzell who was involved with WAVE for many years’.

The post adds: ‘Many of you will have known Elsie as she was at many WAVE events and also spent a number of days each week helping out in the Belfast Centre as a volunteer answering the phones and greeting people.

‘Elsie was a truly remarkable woman.

‘She was caring and compassionate, took no nonsense and was a real character. ‘Elsie was well aware of why WAVE was so important for many individuals and families as she had suffered too.

‘Her daughter Sharon and husband Desmond had been cruelly killed in the Shankill bomb in 1993.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with Elsie’s children Beth and John and their families and with her son in law Alan and Zoe’.

The post adds Alan McBride’s memories of Elsie.

‘It is with regret and profound sadness that I announce the death of my Mother In-law, Elsie Frizzell.

‘Elsie was an amazing woman in so many ways.

‘In 1993 when the ‘Troubles’ claimed the lives of her daughter Sharon and husband Desmond, it was Elsie who helped me see that life could be good again.

‘She worked with me for a number of years at the YMCA before following me to work at the WAVE Trauma Centre.

‘I used to joke that if you employ me you got Elsie for free.

‘Elsie was old school, incredibly independent and doggedly determined to do what she could for other people.

‘She found a second home at WAVE, where she worked in the front office up until a few years ago when old age and failing health limited her mobility.

‘That said, even in poor health you couldn’t keep Elsie away, making her last trip to WAVE in December 2019 at the Seniors Christmas get together.

‘I know that Elsie will be missed by everyone that knew her. I will especially miss my outings with her to garden centres and shopping centres but most of all I will miss her wit and intellect and the look she would give you when you knew that you’d been a bit of an eejit!! Elsie didn’t suffer fools gladly but she was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. RIP Mum xx’.